Cleveland-bred rapper Machine Gun Kelly is pitching in a quarter of a million dollars to fund a skate park on the city's Southeast Side.
The investment from MGK, whose real name is Colson Baker, will help make the $1.3 million project a reality. The city sees the facility, located at Luke Easter Park, as not only recreation expansion for residents, but a potential venue for larger events.
City spokesperson Tyler Sinclair said MGK's foundation reached out earlier this year to discuss how to best invest in Mayor Justin Bibb's vision to revitalize the economically depressed Southeast Side.
"The city always can use more, whether it's more recreational programming, better services, better facilities," Sinclair said. "So this was one where it's like …something that either we're lacking or we can expand, and that aligned with the interest of the MGK Foundation."
In addition to a half-million dollar state grant toward the project, the city will pitch in funds to get the project across the finish line by August 2027.
Cleveland currently has one skate park located Downtown.
"This was community-oriented, and that included targeted sessions with not just residents and folks other folks in the community, but skaters themselves," Sinclair said. "We identified Luke Easter Park as the best location for it based on a variety of things: its accessibility, its pretty strong infrastructure and it's one of the most utilized recreation facilities in the entire city."
The city is currently working its way through a 15-year parks and recreation master plan, which includes improving and diversifying recreation opportunities across the city.
"We're trying to make sure that we're offering not just your standard basketball and baseball and football programs, but some other things that people are interested in," Sinclair said.
Sinclair said the city is grateful to have a partnership with the prolific musician with such deep Cleveland roots.
"This will draw visitors and events that can bring economic activity right into the Southeast side, which is, you know, historically disinvested area," Sinclair said. "So it really means a lot that the MGK group wants to just build a skate park, but wants to do it in the Southeast Side. It says a lot about the character and really just a lot about who he is as a person and the love he has for the city."
Baker hosts an annual block party and charity drive called MGK Day. He also owns the coffee shop 27 Club in The Flats.
