Skateboarders soon might be packing up their boards and migrating from the Old Port.

The city has reached an agreement with engineering firm Woodard and Curran and a Kennebunkport-based design company called Who Skates to create a concept design for a new skate park at Dougherty Field.

Portland has been without a skate park since 2006, when the Forum park on Marginal Way was bulldozed to make way for residential and commercial development.

Since then, the city's efforts to replace the park have moved slowly, marked by debates over funding and location.

At the same time, skateboarders have faced new restrictions on where they are allowed to ride around the city.

Planners have said previously that the city will need to raise as much as $325,000 for a poured concrete park. The Portland Skatepark Planning Committee has raised $150,000 and received a $50,000 matching grant from the Maine Community Foundation's Ollie Fund.

Planners, designers and skateboarders say they hope to have a collaborative process to create a park that skateboarders deserve and the community welcomes.

Tom Noble, president of Who Skates, said he plans to start a blog so that people can offer suggestions for elements in the new park.

"Eighty-five percent of the skater demographic is 10 to 16 years old in age," he said. "They need the lion's share of the park dedicated to them."

Sally DeLuca, manager of the recreation division for Portland, said there will be a meeting at 5 p.m. Tuesday at the Cummings Center on Munjoy Hill. She said the purpose of the meeting is to talk about the design process with engineers, designers, city officials and the public.

Noble said he thinks the park should be able to accommodate skaters as they go from beginner to expert, as well as inline skaters and trick bike riders.

Who Skates has built parks in Biddeford, Bath, Kennebunkport and York, as well as in Massachusetts, California and Florida.

The company was responsible for the design and construction of the old park on Marginal Way. Originally opened in 1998 at a cost of $15,000, the park was largely plywood, with ramps and rails in a space that was formerly part of a commuter parking lot. The park did not age well, and despite efforts from the city, the ramps became worn and warped over time.

Skateboarding advocate Eli Cayer said the city should consider the old park's fate when building the new one.

"They learned that doing something halfway or a quarter-way is not good enough," he said.

Cayer said creating an inclusive environment for suggestions and help on the project will grow a community before the park is built. Portland's Skatepark Planning Committee has started a buck-a-brick drive to raise money for the park, with donors getting an engraved brick placed in the new park.

Cayer said he envisions a park "where everyone has room, no one is running over each other and there is room to grow," he said. "As you get better, you move up the park, essentially."

Another issue a new park could resolve is the appearance of skateboarders throughout the Old Port. In the absence of a true park, skateboarders had taken to riding down Exchange Street and performing tricks around Post Office Park.

In July, the City Council banned skateboarding on Exchange Street between Middle and Fore streets until the end of the year.

Councilor David Marshall, who chairs the Skatepark Planning Committee, said the former park was built to draw skateboarders off the streets and sidewalks, so it was no surprise when more skaters showed up in the Old Port.

Marshall said construction of a new park is still far off, meaning the skateboarding ban might not go away anytime soon.

"It won't have an impact on the skating season next year," Marshall said. "The efforts now will solve problems two seasons from now."

Dylan Verner, a skateboarder who works at Sunny...