The Decline of Roller Skating Rinks - Page 2

chuckboucher · April 19th, 2007, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MANY_SkatingDave

A few years ago, maybe 7 according to life time Boston area skaters, adult night at a rink in Tyngsboro, MA would have a crowd of about 100plus adult skaters. They closed Adult Sunday night, the first time I came, because there were under 60 skaters in attendance. BTW the floor at Tyngsboro isn't very well maintained.

Tyngsboro, like Hudson, are both Roller Kingdom rinks. The owners of these rinks are only concerned about lining their pockets and not maintaining the bread and butter, which is the rink floor itself.

A great example of their lackluster attitude is their former 3rd rink, located less than 3 miles from my home. It was in Woonsocket, RI. The floor was severely damaged by water seepage and their answer to swelling floor boards was to remove some to allow for swelling.

I used to speed skate out of the Hudson rink and everyone in the league absolutely hated that floor. It was a wood floor that was painted or coated or something. (who knows what...) It was slippery as hell and only a hard outdoor inline wheel would grip it.

Tyngsboro's floor is like a roller coaster in some spots. How can a company post "skate at your own risk" signs when they don't maintain their floors?

SOMEONE BRING BACK RIVERDALE ROLLER WORLD!!!

sylv · April 19th, 2007, 01:40 PM

Rink skating isn't very popular these days anymore. I know my local rink, compared with how it used to be when i went there every week as a young teenager, doesn't have many people coming through its doors. I think the only reason it's still in business is because of all the hockey teams that train there...

There used to be quite a few ice skating rinks, but now it's just down to one! I only ever knew of 2 ice skating rinks, but my parents have told me about a few others that used to exist locally. They also build a mini ice rink in the city during Winter, but it's expensive, small, and so not worth it

That said, the last proper ice skating rink left is really far for me to get to

I'm currently working to get more people out skating, i see a fair few newbies at the beach, and random skaters near work who probably don't know about all the different kinds of skating and clubs available to them. I myself didn't know much about skating (apart from that i liked to skate) and all the clubs and stuff out there until i started uni and went to the proper skate shops...

If i get the courage, i might start teaching people at the beach, as i've already had someone enquire about having lessons with me! (which is kinda cool

) but for now i'm working on ways to get more publicity about skating... the only influence i've had on anyone is skating near my house, and had a few of my neighbours kids start skating because of seeing me around, hehe...

brikkee · April 19th, 2007, 03:31 PM

my 2 cents to this has to do with the parents not taking some kind of steps helping the kids go to the rinks and having no input at these rinks.most parent want the best for there kids and want them to be pro baseball,football,hockey,etc...where the money is or dont care to move themself cause they are lazy and let there kiids play ps2,xbox games all day.i would have to say the first step would be getting the parents there and give them some thing to do cause the kids are there to skate.

rwsz · April 19th, 2007, 06:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brikkee

my 2 cents to this has to do with the parents not taking some kind of steps helping the kids go to the rinks and having no input at these rinks.most parent want the best for there kids and want them to be pro baseball,football,hockey,etc...where the money is or dont care to move themself cause they are lazy and let there kiids play ps2,xbox games all day.i would have to say the first step would be getting the parents there and give them some thing to do cause the kids are there to skate.

spending the last 17 years in a rink and art club as a parent i watched skating decline at sessions. the increase and money for rink owners today is in birthday parties and private rink rentals for fundraisers or other functions. the bills are high for them, heat, upkeep and maintaining the floor if they do it. insurance and liability is another cost for sure. so support the rinks when you can and enjoy the outdoors also.

brikkee · April 19th, 2007, 07:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rwsz

spending the last 17 years in a rink and art club as a parent i watched skating decline at sessions. the increase and money for rink owners today is in birthday parties and private rink rentals for fundraisers or other functions. the bills are high for them, heat, upkeep and maintaining the floor if they do it. insurance and liability is another cost for sure. so support the rinks when you can and enjoy the outdoors also.

i understand birthday parties and private rink rentals for fundraisers or other functions keep the rinks going.but if you look on the not so skating crowd and make it interesting for them the more parents that go the more kids that skate the more money rink makes.not saying once they turn 16 it's time to drive and skating the last thing on there minds and the parents dont want to sit there 3-4 hours doing nothing and not all of them skate like we do.

inlina · April 20th, 2007, 12:46 PM

I have been on the inside of the roller skating rink business...in Melbourne, Australia. My parents have owned two rinks in the Melbourne metro area, both closed due to the generally due to pressures mentioned in the article.

The rink owners I still talk to say those pressures keep getting worse, but they keep hanging on. Things aren't terrible, but it's not a business you get into to get rich. Many of them want to get out, but have been in it since the 80's, they don't know what else to do if they shut up shop.

It got bad in the 90's with inline skating for some. It took a lot of the skating outdoors. Rinks that relied on sessions, lessons and quads really started to lose out. For the rinks that jumped on the inline hockey bandwagon, they got by OK during the 90's. When inline as a whole went into decline, so did hockey. That hurt a number of rinks.

The other crazy thing over here is Friday and Saturday night sessions. They used to be a mainstay. The place kids would go to hang out together outside of school. It was a regular social event. I don't know what has happened since. Some rinks don't do a Friday or a Saturday night anymore. Others have very small sessions. I've got a few theories on why the Fri/Sat night died off...since I was a teen in the 90's. I'm not entirely sure what teens and tweens are doing now though, but I've got a rough idea.

The only other issue that might have affected growth of the sport and hot the rinks is the population growth of the country. Australia's population growth really slowed during the mid-late 90's. Birth rates were way down. I guess that's proabaly thinned out the target audience a bit in the 00's.

CG

chunchmeow · April 20th, 2007, 02:37 PM

Its terrible here. There are no more rinks in the area accessible by public transportation unless you go to Long Island for limited-time sessions or head to upstate NJ an hour away by bus.* The last rink here is closing on the 28th and all the kids that go there after school will be on the street with nothing to do. I'm not saying they'll all cause trouble but they sure as hell wont be excercising.

I took up swimming to keep fit. Rollerskating to me is starting to become a memory

*note, i still dont know what bus line to take because its not published anywhere. damn bus companies!

BWI-Sheldon · April 20th, 2007, 03:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chunchmeow

Its terrible here. ........... Rollerskating to me is starting to become a memory .............

Maybe it's time to go outdoors. I don't know exactly where you are, but I know that there are a lot of outdoor skating areas.
inlines are great, inlines are cool, inlines are sexy, I want to skate outdoors on inlines, people give me attention outdoors on inlines, I am happy outside, feel the breeze, listen to the birds, I am at peace, I feel good outdoors, I want to skate fast on inlines outdoors, faster and faster I go, I am flying free like a bird, I squash bugs outdoors, Oh powerful me to decide which bugs live and which bugs die, I go farther and faster than NYC traffic, I need to skate outdoors, I will skate outdoors.....

Besides if I get you to convert to outdoor speedskating, I get a free toaster or something

chunchmeow · April 20th, 2007, 03:30 PM

hehehehe very sneaky!

I'm not much of a speed-skating or inline person though so nice try

BWI-Sheldon · April 20th, 2007, 03:40 PM

Darn! it was supposed to be subliminal.

You can still quad outside. I was in NY for a while in 1991 and skated Central Park, Belt Parkway, Marine Park, even up and down Ocean Parkway.

chunchmeow · April 20th, 2007, 04:21 PM

ps: i still have my inlines that I bought about 7 years ago, so that is an option too once the ice rinks close. The only problem I have with inlines is that I feel this immense pressure on my feet due to the balance being different from quads. Is this something my feet can learn? because its been consistent over the 7 years that I've had them.

BWI-Sheldon · April 20th, 2007, 04:39 PM

ahh. I'm halfway to getting the toaster.

Could be one or all of these.
1) It takes time to build ankle muscles.
2) boot might not be a good one for you.
3) some bad technique.

My guess is #2. You skate so you know that the boot will make the experience either great or horrible. I feel bad when people say to me, "I can't skate because I have terrible balance".

We all did when we started.

roller_dudette · April 20th, 2007, 05:16 PM

chunchmeow - I skate on the street in quads! My rink is almost an hour away so I only go twice a week. Just get soft wheels like kryptonics, you'll be fine.

BWI-Sheldon · April 20th, 2007, 05:26 PM

Announcement:

Free inline skating lessons by world-renowned skating legend in the Baltimore Washington metropolitan area!

BWI-Sheldon · April 20th, 2007, 05:30 PM

disclaimer;

only valid for inline skates, outdoor only, world-renowned skating legend may actually be just some local speed skating wannabe, speak to your doctor before starting, actually a shrink would be better, must wear protective gear, etc........

MECOW · April 22nd, 2007, 07:14 PM

I live in north east TN and there are 3 rinks in the area 1 is up for sale and well be torn down to build condos 1 is up for sale as retail and the thrid is a place that people just don't want to leave there kids. I want to buy the best 1 of the three but they are wanting to much and are against selling it for roller skating rink. To build new is of 4.2 million dollars. I well not give up, I coach and kids need the postive input. I love the sport and well build or buy a rink here to keep skating a live and rolling.
Dave

ncsk8rgirl · April 22nd, 2007, 08:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MECOW

I live in north east TN and there are 3 rinks in the area 1 is up for sale and well be torn down to build condos 1 is up for sale as retail and the thrid is a place that people just don't want to leave there kids. I want to buy the best 1 of the three but they are wanting to much and are against selling it for roller skating rink. To build new is of 4.2 million dollars. I well not give up, I coach and kids need the postive input. I love the sport and well build or buy a rink here to keep skating a live and rolling.
Dave

good luck with that. I am all for keeping kids in the rinks and off the streets (and out from n front of the TV too!)

online inline · April 22nd, 2007, 10:38 PM

The NY Times online edition feature video today starts with a segment on the closing of the Empire skating rink in Brooklyn. Very sad. They do a series of interviews with local skaters there, and it hits a chord- how skating is in the hearts and souls of these people, and the loss of the rink means so much to them.
At what point is our beloved government going to step in and do something to promote activities that foster health and fitness in the battle against obesity?
Also interesting that one poster above notes they are going to start swimming at local pool since their rink closed, but around here at least, pools are closing too becuase they are so expensive to heat and maintain.
Are we really that impoverished?

ducorpstoo · April 23rd, 2007, 04:54 AM

Well, down here in San Diego we just had one rink close about 3 weeks ago. I skated that last session and although I had seen people that I hadn't seen in years it was still bittersweet for all of us. Furthermore its sister rink in Chula Vista (wonderful floor, beautiful facility) is also slated to close down at the end of June

So the only rinks left in the San Diego County will be in Escondido (slippery floor!!), National City (mostly dedicated to roller-hockey...rumor has it that they might dedicate a weekly night for an adult skate) and in Linda Vista (convenient distance from me, wooden floor, no complaints, Adult night on Tuesdays).

Very sad indeed for all of us skaters....

xlracer · April 23rd, 2007, 01:45 PM

Mecow Im just outside of Nashville so there would be no conflict.
As far a San Diego goes...I lived there i the 80's and the rink situation back then was bad. Its real hard to get people to skate indoors when you live some where that is sunny and 74 about 200 days a year. I skated all the time when we lived there but I was doing it on the board walk at Mission Beach or the park at Mission Bay.

April 19th, 2007, 03:31 PM	#23
brikkee Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Warwick R.I Posts: 1,351	my 2 cents to this has to do with the parents not taking some kind of steps helping the kids go to the rinks and having no input at these rinks.most parent want the best for there kids and want them to be pro baseball,football,hockey,etc...where the money is or dont care to move themself cause they are lazy and let there kiids play ps2,xbox games all day.i would have to say the first step would be getting the parents there and give them some thing to do cause the kids are there to skate. __________________ Riedell 295,Synder Figure Imperial Lite, Grease 95a,Fafnir Bearings Riedell 695,Atlas E-97/s, Roll-Line 95a, Fafnir Bearings

April 22nd, 2007, 07:14 PM	#36
MECOW Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 1	Decline of roller rinks I live in north east TN and there are 3 rinks in the area 1 is up for sale and well be torn down to build condos 1 is up for sale as retail and the thrid is a place that people just don't want to leave there kids. I want to buy the best 1 of the three but they are wanting to much and are against selling it for roller skating rink. To build new is of 4.2 million dollars. I well not give up, I coach and kids need the postive input. I love the sport and well build or buy a rink here to keep skating a live and rolling. Dave

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April 19th, 2007, 01:40 PM	#22
sylv Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 22	Rink skating isn't very popular these days anymore. I know my local rink, compared with how it used to be when i went there every week as a young teenager, doesn't have many people coming through its doors. I think the only reason it's still in business is because of all the hockey teams that train there... There used to be quite a few ice skating rinks, but now it's just down to one! I only ever knew of 2 ice skating rinks, but my parents have told me about a few others that used to exist locally. They also build a mini ice rink in the city during Winter, but it's expensive, small, and so not worth it That said, the last proper ice skating rink left is really far for me to get to I'm currently working to get more people out skating, i see a fair few newbies at the beach, and random skaters near work who probably don't know about all the different kinds of skating and clubs available to them. I myself didn't know much about skating (apart from that i liked to skate) and all the clubs and stuff out there until i started uni and went to the proper skate shops... If i get the courage, i might start teaching people at the beach, as i've already had someone enquire about having lessons with me! (which is kinda cool ) but for now i'm working on ways to get more publicity about skating... the only influence i've had on anyone is skating near my house, and had a few of my neighbours kids start skating because of seeing me around, hehe...

April 20th, 2007, 12:46 PM	#26
inlina ABEC42 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 922	I have been on the inside of the roller skating rink business...in Melbourne, Australia. My parents have owned two rinks in the Melbourne metro area, both closed due to the generally due to pressures mentioned in the article. The rink owners I still talk to say those pressures keep getting worse, but they keep hanging on. Things aren't terrible, but it's not a business you get into to get rich. Many of them want to get out, but have been in it since the 80's, they don't know what else to do if they shut up shop. It got bad in the 90's with inline skating for some. It took a lot of the skating outdoors. Rinks that relied on sessions, lessons and quads really started to lose out. For the rinks that jumped on the inline hockey bandwagon, they got by OK during the 90's. When inline as a whole went into decline, so did hockey. That hurt a number of rinks. The other crazy thing over here is Friday and Saturday night sessions. They used to be a mainstay. The place kids would go to hang out together outside of school. It was a regular social event. I don't know what has happened since. Some rinks don't do a Friday or a Saturday night anymore. Others have very small sessions. I've got a few theories on why the Fri/Sat night died off...since I was a teen in the 90's. I'm not entirely sure what teens and tweens are doing now though, but I've got a rough idea. The only other issue that might have affected growth of the sport and hot the rinks is the population growth of the country. Australia's population growth really slowed during the mid-late 90's. Birth rates were way down. I guess that's proabaly thinned out the target audience a bit in the 00's. CG

April 20th, 2007, 02:37 PM	#27
chunchmeow nyc quad addict Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: center of the universe Posts: 189	Its terrible here. There are no more rinks in the area accessible by public transportation unless you go to Long Island for limited-time sessions or head to upstate NJ an hour away by bus.* The last rink here is closing on the 28th and all the kids that go there after school will be on the street with nothing to do. I'm not saying they'll all cause trouble but they sure as hell wont be excercising. I took up swimming to keep fit. Rollerskating to me is starting to become a memory *note, i still dont know what bus line to take because its not published anywhere. damn bus companies!

April 20th, 2007, 03:30 PM	#29
chunchmeow nyc quad addict Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: center of the universe Posts: 189	hehehehe very sneaky! I'm not much of a speed-skating or inline person though so nice try

April 20th, 2007, 03:40 PM	#30
BWI-Sheldon Pro Bike Chaser Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Maryland Posts: 2,976	Darn! it was supposed to be subliminal. You can still quad outside. I was in NY for a while in 1991 and skated Central Park, Belt Parkway, Marine Park, even up and down Ocean Parkway.

April 20th, 2007, 04:21 PM	#31
chunchmeow nyc quad addict Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: center of the universe Posts: 189	ps: i still have my inlines that I bought about 7 years ago, so that is an option too once the ice rinks close. The only problem I have with inlines is that I feel this immense pressure on my feet due to the balance being different from quads. Is this something my feet can learn? because its been consistent over the 7 years that I've had them.

April 20th, 2007, 04:39 PM	#32
BWI-Sheldon Pro Bike Chaser Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Maryland Posts: 2,976	ahh. I'm halfway to getting the toaster. Could be one or all of these. 1) It takes time to build ankle muscles. 2) boot might not be a good one for you. 3) some bad technique. My guess is #2. You skate so you know that the boot will make the experience either great or horrible. I feel bad when people say to me, "I can't skate because I have terrible balance". We all did when we started.

April 20th, 2007, 05:16 PM	#33
roller_dudette skate addict! Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 4,199	chunchmeow - I skate on the street in quads! My rink is almost an hour away so I only go twice a week. Just get soft wheels like kryptonics, you'll be fine.

April 20th, 2007, 05:26 PM	#34
BWI-Sheldon Pro Bike Chaser Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Maryland Posts: 2,976	Announcement: Free inline skating lessons by world-renowned skating legend in the Baltimore Washington metropolitan area!

April 20th, 2007, 05:30 PM	#35
BWI-Sheldon Pro Bike Chaser Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Maryland Posts: 2,976	disclaimer; only valid for inline skates, outdoor only, world-renowned skating legend may actually be just some local speed skating wannabe, speak to your doctor before starting, actually a shrink would be better, must wear protective gear, etc........

April 22nd, 2007, 10:38 PM	#38
online inline Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: seattle, WA USA Posts: 3,925	The NY Times online edition feature video today starts with a segment on the closing of the Empire skating rink in Brooklyn. Very sad. They do a series of interviews with local skaters there, and it hits a chord- how skating is in the hearts and souls of these people, and the loss of the rink means so much to them. At what point is our beloved government going to step in and do something to promote activities that foster health and fitness in the battle against obesity? Also interesting that one poster above notes they are going to start swimming at local pool since their rink closed, but around here at least, pools are closing too becuase they are so expensive to heat and maintain. Are we really that impoverished?

April 23rd, 2007, 04:54 AM	#39
ducorpstoo Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: San Diego Posts: 12	Well, down here in San Diego we just had one rink close about 3 weeks ago. I skated that last session and although I had seen people that I hadn't seen in years it was still bittersweet for all of us. Furthermore its sister rink in Chula Vista (wonderful floor, beautiful facility) is also slated to close down at the end of June So the only rinks left in the San Diego County will be in Escondido (slippery floor!!), National City (mostly dedicated to roller-hockey...rumor has it that they might dedicate a weekly night for an adult skate) and in Linda Vista (convenient distance from me, wooden floor, no complaints, Adult night on Tuesdays). Very sad indeed for all of us skaters....

April 23rd, 2007, 01:45 PM	#40
xlracer Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 1,129	Mecow Im just outside of Nashville so there would be no conflict. As far a San Diego goes...I lived there i the 80's and the rink situation back then was bad. Its real hard to get people to skate indoors when you live some where that is sunny and 74 about 200 days a year. I skated all the time when we lived there but I was doing it on the board walk at Mission Beach or the park at Mission Bay.