Why is Modesto councilman advocating downtown as home for roller skating rink?
Modesto Councilman Chris Ricci says he has an easy and relatively inexpensive way to draw more people downtown: The city could make it the home of a permanent outdoor roller skating rink.
He said the city could consider converting part of the parking lot at Modesto Centre Plaza for the rink. Part of the parking lot at the Modesto Library or other downtown parking lots also could be contenders, Ricci said.
“Skating creates community, and it’s a spectator sport,” the councilman said. “Ideally, it would be similar to the ice skating rink” that operates seasonally in the Centre Plaza parking lot and draws thousands to downtown over the holidays.
Modesto has been providing a temporary home on Sundays for roller skaters for about six months on two of its tennis courts at Johansen High School. The skaters had been gathering Sundays at East La Loma Park, but some residents at the nearby Oakridge townhouses had complained they could hear the skaters’ music.
Brian Cromwell, who started the Facebook group Modesto Skates in October 2020, organizes the Sunday skating events. Modesto Skates has grown to about 3,900 members.
“I like the idea as long as we get a nice skate area,” Cromwell said about a permanent rink in downtown. He said that means an oval with a smooth surface designed specifically for roller skates.
Cromwell said he appreciates that the city has worked with the skaters by finding them a temporary home and that it supports establishing a permanent outdoor rink. But he said the Johansen location is not convenient and does not have bathrooms, a drinking fountain or shade.
Cromwell said about three times, the city has failed to unlock the gates to the tennis courts, including this past Sunday, leaving the skaters locked out.
Ricci said when he talks to city officials about a permanent rink, they tell him they are looking at placing it in Tuolumne River Regional Park. (City officials in August talked about the regional park’s gateway parcel near downtown as a potential site.)
The councilman said he expects the project would take years to become a reality. Modesto can convert part of a downtown parking lot much faster and at much less cost, he said.
When asked for a response, Deputy City Manager Caluha Barnes emailed this statement: “In balancing priorities, community interest, staff capacity, and Council priorities, the Parks, Recreation and Neighborhoods Department identified a location for skaters that appears to be working well at Johansen.”
$30 million in grants
Barnes continued: “As a result of the great work of the PRN staff, the city has received well over $30 million in grant funding for several major park improvement projects, as well as a myriad of other projects. Much of this funding has expenditure deadlines, and the associated projects are priorities.”
Those grants include $8.5 million each from the state to remake Cesar Chavez and Martin Luther King Jr. parks in west Modesto, which is one of the city’s poorest and most diverse communities.
Ricci said the city can look into paying for the rink with some of the nearly $46 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding it has received and is receiving. The federal funding is to help the city weather the pandemic.
The city has allocated some of the funding to help nonprofits. For instance, it has allocated $500,000 each to the Modesto Children’s Museum, the Graffiti USA Museum, which celebrates the city’s car culture, and The Awesome Spot, an inclusive playground at Beyer Community Park. The three venues have not yet opened.
Ricci said the city also could look at placing a rink in one of its parks if downtown does not work. He said Roosevelt or Graceada parks might be good options. He said one of the most frequent comments he hears from residents is their desire for a roller skating rink.
Roller King closed in 2005
Modesto’s last roller rink closed its doors in July 2005 after nearly 31 years in business. The indoor Roller King had operated in a shopping center where Briggsmore and Orangeburg avenues meet.
“I think there is a lot of nostalgia,” Ricci said about the desire for a rink. Roller King “was such an important part of our community and then it was gone. ... This is a real thing. There is a real feeling in the community for this.”
Ricci said he will continue to advocate for opening a rink sooner than later and will work on finding partners in the community for the project.
This story was originally published February 24, 2022 at 7:00 AM.
