Is A New Roller Skating Rink Coming To The Northern Colorado Area?
Colorado is, or has been home to many amazing roller skating rinks over the years. The Northern Colorado area only has one left in 2023, but could that be changing soon?
New Roller Rink Coming To The Northern Colorado Area?
Before I got into radio and content creation back in the early 2000s, I was running a local roller skating rink in Thornton, Colorado. Roller Express, or Roller City North if you're old school, was on 84th and Huron and it was the place to be every single weekend as a kid. I was what you'd call a regular at Roller Express. I was there so much, the owners, the late great Dave & Chris Cran, and the amazing Steve Saunders hired me to work there. I started out picking up skates and sweeping up popcorn, but eventually, I'd work my way up to "Session Director" which meant I was the DJ and ran the vibe of the day/night. I loved my home rink and I miss it greatly.
The original Roller Express collapsed in the blizzard of 2002. It was rebuilt as "Xpress Sports and Entertainment" but that was short-lived as it was sold to Pinnacle Charter Schools shortly after and is now a High School. Funny how things change, huh? Another popular Colorado skating rink was located in Longmont, "Roll-O-Rena," which opened in 1952, and closed in 2003. Since then, the closest places around the Longmont/Firestone area to skate are the famous Rollerland in Fort Collins, and Skate City on 120th and I-25. What if the magic of indoor roller skating came back to life in the Longmont area again?
Pop-Up Roller Skating Rink In Longmont, Colorado
A local company, Freewheel Limited, which is run by two sisters (Melissa Blumenshine and Mandy Martin), is launching a pop-up roller skating rink this spring. But, they hope to eventually bring back a permanent location to the Longmont/Firestone area. After visiting an indoor trampoline park and coming up with ideas for other active things that kids and families could do together indoors, the thought of a new roller skating rink was born.
Step one in their plan to show that there is a market for this form of entertainment in their city is with a special pop-up roller rink run by Freewheel. This special pop-up rink will be at the Bounder County Fairgrounds on Friday, March 17th, and Saturday, March 18th, with plans to host other events as the weather gets better. The dream of a permanent location is something they seriously plan or pursue though. In an interview with the Longmont Leader, sister, Melissa Blumenshine, said:
“We just really want to bring the joy of roller skating back to Longmont. That’s what it really comes down to is the joy that roller skating brings to people, that feeling. We just really want to bring the community together, that’s one of the biggest things is being involved with the community and just being a place where kids can be safe and have fun and exercise — and just be kids.”
A new rink in this part of Colorado would be awesome, as I live in Firestone and there is very little to do around here to entertain my kiddos. Keep up with Melissa and Mandy's roller skating rink journey at SkateFreewheel.com and we hope to be able to visit their new rink soon that later. If you need a DJ, I know a guy! Meanwhile, here's some other fun stuff to do around Colorado with your fam...