After more than 30 years as a destination for family fun, Shaler's beloved roller skating rink is closing.
Romp n' Roll, located on East Sutter Road, announced the news last week.
“We have had an absolute fantastic time providing you all with a safe, family-friendly, entertainment venue for over the past 30 years, but Romp n' Roll will be closing its doors Nov. 30,” the statement from owners read. “We hope you have enjoyed the time you have spent here as much as we have enjoyed having you.”
A farewell skate is planned from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 28.
“It's bittersweet in the sense that we're very proud and honored to have received so many compliments,” general manager Dan Kochman said. “We had no idea we had touched so many lives.”
A message posted on Facebook discussing the closure has been shared nearly 2,000 times and viewed by about 200,000 people, Kochman said.
Romp n' Roll began its life in 1982 as Shaler Skateland and was renamed in the mid-1990s. Over the years, the skating rink has held every type of party imaginable, Kochman said, and helped form many relationships.
“It was the regular place to go and hang out,” he said. “People met their wives or husbands here. They started romances here. Apparently we've done pretty well in that sense. We created a lot of good will and that's our mission.”
The skating rink also has been home to the Steel City Roller Derby league since it formed in 2006, said Jamie Fargo, member of the league.
Romp n' Roll welcomed the roller derby with open arms, she said, and did a lot to accommodate their practices and matches.
“They were really welcoming and embraced roller derby, when we had other rinks in the area that weren't really interested in us,” Fargo said. “We were able to turn that skating rink into a venue that was open to the public to see our full-fledged games. We brought teams from all over the country to play us at this little skating rink out in Shaler.”
The league now is scrambling to find a place to hold practices by January in order to get on track for their 2017 travel season that starts in March, Fargo said.
With about 60 women in the league, they have several interleague teams that play each other and two teams that travel across the country to play other Women's Flat Track Derby Association leagues.
Steel City Roller Derby hosts all-league practices twice a week and the travel teams hold more practices during their playing season, which runs from March to September. They already have away games scheduled for 2017, Fargo said.
Few roller skating rinks are left in the area. The closest to Shaler are Neville Roller Dome on Neville Island and Eden Park Roller Rink in McKeesport.
Steel City Roller Derby is looking for a 75-foot-by-108-foot open space with room for audience seating, the ability to lay down rope and tape for track markings and an easily accessible location with ample parking.
Fargo said they are looking for an affordable place to practice and hold games as the roller derby league is self-funded. They aren't against raising their dues but they don't want to price any of their members out of the sport in order to find a new venue.
“What we're looking for is someone that will work for us and see the value of what we bring to the community and the value of women in sports and are just wanting to work with us on that basis,” she said.
Anyone with information on a new space for the roller derby is asked to contact bod@steelcityrollerderby.org. For more information on the league, visit steelcityrollerderby.org.
Rachel Farkas is a Tribune-Review contributor.
