JACKSON – The township once again has a skating rink.
The owners of the Jackson Skating Center, Rollermagic, closed the door to their facility last fall. The rink had been operating for decades.
A ribbon cutting for the new rink with the new name United Skates of America was held recently. The rink’s first skating session was held a day earlier.
United Skates of America, Inc. President Karen Palermo said “we met a lot of the regular customers that had been skating here for years and years with their families. When they walked in last night, they were like…wow. The murals are all brand new and they glow under the black light. They really pop. We have a state-of-the-art light show which is brand new to roller skating.”
She said there was a sound system update and a brand-new carpet. “We have a lot of first time-job kids that are working for us, 16-17 year olds. That is when I got my start with the company. It is really great to see that next generation of kids coming in. They learn a lot.”
Trying out the rink was the Roth family. Jackson Police Officer Matthew Roth joined his young daughter Charley out onto the rink for some roller time.
Crystal Roth watched them looking at the smiles on her husband and daughter’s face but her thoughts reflected the past. “It doesn’t have the old roller-skating smell. It used to smell like stale beer but they didn’t have beer here. The carpet was crazy looking. This is much better”
“This was my booth right here,” said Tony Alfano, a former Jackson resident, pointing to the refurbished seating area. “I was here every Friday night. It was dark and dank. It is amazing what they have done.”
United Skates Chairman Jim Dvorak came out from Ohio for the event and he was equally excited to see the full refurbished entertainment attraction. He noted that during their first skate session, “we had 250 people – all families – and they were having a great time. I spoke to some of the moms and they said this was the best place and it is so clean and so much fun with the lights.”
“The ceiling tiles are new and the lights are flat panels LEDs. We threw away hundreds and hundreds of the old lights. It was a bowling alley first and then it was converted into a roller-skating rink,” Dvorak added.
He noted, “the whole building was gutted and we moved the skate port – it used to be against the wall but we moved it out about 25 feet and now we have room for about 240 seats with 24 tables. Everyone was there as they could sit in a circular table and discuss things and watch the kids.”
The Ribbon Cutting featured some special guests from the Jackson community including Mayor Michael Reina, 12th District Assemblyman Alex Sauickie who lives in Jackson, Councilwoman Jennifer Kuhn and Chamber of Commerce President Anthony Canderozzi.
They each recalled past times at the former Jackson Skating Center on County Line Road which first opened its doors in 1978. The facility closed on October 3,2022.
Mayor Reina said, “this is another welcome addition to the town for children as well as families as a whole. We are excited and this is just the beginning of the many changes that are happening in Jackson. Another positive in the books for us.”
“I used to skate here when we moved to Jackson in the 80s. This is a rejuvenation and we’re happy to see the positive changes,” the mayor added.
“As much as I have great memories of the old rink as a kid, they really did a phenomenal job. It is absolutely beautiful. They shortened the skating area a little bit but they added a nice sitting area that never existed before,” Sauickie said.
Councilwoman Kuhn noticed, “they switched where you got your skates, the lockers have always been here. The place looks really cool. We didn’t have the skate mates when we were kids that prevent you from falling. I used to hit that wall a lot when I was a kid.”
Canderozzi said, “I love the fact that they are keeping it open. It has been here forever and it is a great place for kids to come and have some good clean safe fun. It looks tremendous.”
