Stadium roller rink makes the most of limited capacity

Home City News Stadium roller rink makes the most of limited capacity
Stadium roller rink makes the most of limited capacity
After being shut down for months, Stadium Roller Rink has been opened since January. Courtesy | Stadium Roller Rink

Stadium Roller Rink recently reopened to the public with limited capacity after being shut down since October due to the pandemic.

Owner Doug Ingles said the rink, which at the beginning of January could accommodate up to 50 people, filled up almost immediately.

“When we opened in January, we started with Saturday night from 6 – 9 p.m., and that met the capacities,” Ingles said. “In other words, we sold out during limited capacity.”

The roller rink had not been open to the public since October after the business tried to reopen in September. Prior to September, the rink had been closed since March 2020. 

Since January, however, the roller rink has been open to the public on Saturdays from 2-4 p.m. and 6-9 p.m. and has been sold out every single week when it was only allowed to admit 50 people.

Now, new rules allow for 80 people to skate at a time. Ingles said he has worked hard to be able to open back up while the lockdown was in effect.

“I was cleaning, fixing and getting ready and planning and trying to figure out everything I could possibly do to help,” Ingles said. “I write letters, I make phone calls, reach out to the leaders in our community. I talked to other rinks, I talked to other businesses. I set my plan. When I went to the health department, they actually said that this was so good, it looks like it could be the template to open up a new business.”

Because of this, Ingles said one of the good things to come about from the shutdown was the improvement in the level of safety and cleanliness to the rink. The rink now takes a few more precautions, such as asking people to stay home if they are sick and to wear a mask when they are interacting with their friends or other groups outside of skating activities. The rink also developed a new cleaning routine.

“That was one of the things during the shutdown that I got organized with, was the cleaning process. It’s really enhanced,” Ingles said. “If someone feels uncomfortable, my advice is that it isn’t time for you to come skating. I’m not trying to be all things for everybody. I’m trying to provide a safe environment that customers feel good about, that they can have some community activity, something to do.”

Ingles said the response from the public has been overwhelmingly positive, calling it “good for the customers and good for the business.” He said he realizes that not everyone can enter the roller rink if it is at capacity, and that is why he has a system of private pods, in which groups can call him and book a time for them to come in alone outside of the Saturday hours. The pods got started in April when he could not open fully to the public, and the group sizes range from ten to 35.

“Everybody really likes to be out with family and friends that they feel comfortable with,” Ingles said. “And so I came up with this idea of doing small-size skating, and I decided to call them pods, so when somebody comes in and rents one of the private pods, they have the whole rink to themselves. It’s just them and their friends.”

Ingles said when each business owner has to evaluate how to move forward in the pandemic, they should have their “own unique set of conditions.”

“I would encourage business owners to try and find ways to be creative,” Ingles said. “Be open.”

He added that he loved seeing the community show support and come together to spend time at the rink. 

“I appreciate the fact that we’ve got a community that allows me the opportunity to be here,” Ingles said. “The smiles that I see in the family, in the thank yous that I get as a leader, really mean a lot. And so I’m trying really hard as much as I can to provide a good outlet for everybody.”

Rosalee Osten, a resident in Hillsdale, said her family and friends have been going to Ingle’s rink every weekend during the open skate; it has been one of the few activities available to them.

“We have something to do, something to get the kids’ energy out; with the cold weather, it’s not something they like to do,” Osten said.

Brendan Deasy, another frequent customer of the roller rink, said he goes with his fiancee and two children a few times a month. He echoed Osten’s sentiment, calling the rink a “very safe place to go.”

“We’ve never had an issue, and it is very professional. And it always provides another fun family atmosphere for the community,” Deasy said.