A building that sat empty for years has become a favorite place to go around for kids and families in Galesburg, but now the roller skating rink needs some repairs, and the owner is asking the City for help. Our Quad Cities Victoria Frazier reports that the rink is one of the only safe places for recreational activity, so its business is vital to the community.
After sitting empty for several years, the Skate Palace opened its doors in 2023. Micheal Spinks, owner of the Skate Palace, said the condition of the floors is affecting business and the skaters.
“Everything runs its course. This floor has served its purpose ten times over. Now it’s more of a safety issue. I have my staff every hour every half hour or so, but the rocks still come up,” said Spinks.
The recent closing of a bowling alley and no community center in the area makes spaces like Skate Palace vital for kids, said Galesburg Mayor Peter Schwartzman. “I certainly believe what’s going on here is a real asset to the community. It’s serving a gap in our services in our community, and it’s a very unique space. It does things no other community entity does, and it also serves populations that are often underserved in our community,” said Schwartzman.
Spinks asked council members from the City of Galesburg for the funding needed to make the necessary repairs. It will cost $77,000 to repair the floors in the skating rink. Mayor Schwartzman’s fundraiser raised $9,000 to help offset the cost of repairs.
Spinks plans to purchase the most cost-effective flooring known as “sports court” and get a lot of use of it. “The idea I came up with is a sports court. It’s more of a multi-sport court because here we do baseball and softball, and we’re going to have a basketball hoop put in here also eventually,” said Spinks. The sports court flooring is the cheapest option compared to other flooring methods like hardwood or epoxy.
Lindsey Corbin visits the roller rink with her family. “I love coming here it’s really important for us to have things in the community that are daughter can do this is a really great place she’s 6 years old but she’s loved coming here and the events like this,” said Corbin.
Spinks created a fundraiser to help with the cost of floor repairs and said whether the city provides funding or not the job will still get done.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7sMHRqqyanJOewaqx0meaqKVfo7K4v46lppyZnGK7psPSaJ6apJWor7a%2BxmapqKScmr9uvsinomahnmKxqr%2FRnqeaoaJivLi6xKtkmqubqHqnu9Fmn56koGQ%3D