Back before Facebook, iPhones and TikTok videos, the social scene looked very different. In the latter half of the 20th century, kids found many different ways to look cool, have fun and hang out with their friends. And that’s when roller rinks flourished.
Full of colorful lighting, pop hits and mirror balls, roller rinks invited you to pick out your cutest outfit, grab your friends and head out on the glossy floor on skates to show off in front of your middle school crush. Pittsburgh-area youths flocked to venues such as Ches-A-Rena in Cheswick, Bethel Roll Arena in Bethel Park and Romp n’ Roll in Shaler to show off their best moves.
But nowadays, according to Pittsburgh SK8 Collaborative, the once-booming industry has shrunk from 18 rinks at the height of roller skating’s popularity to just two today.
That doesn’t mean that interest in this fast-moving pastime has disappeared. On the contrary, groups such as the PSC and the growing popularity of skating sports such as roller derby have kept the spirit of skating alive. They’re even hoping to grow and expand the hobby in the future.
The Roller Skating Association encourages interested business owners to open roller rinks by highlighting its growing popularity, health benefits, and its community and youth engagement.
Dana Bannon, one of the founders and the current vice president of PGH SK8 Collective, agreed with another one of their reasons: roller skating is an inclusive activity.
“For us, a broader picture is just to get accessible skating. … That’s our driving force,” said Bannon, 43, of Crafton.
The smash-and-roll sport of roller derby has shot up in popularity in recent years, especially among young people. Players all agree that roller derby is a welcoming, team-driven environment for people of all kinds. And it doesn’t take much to get started.
“I was pretty much starting from scratch,” said Danielle Burns, who’s been playing with Steel City Roller Derby since 2018. “I’d been to roller rinks as a kid for birthday parties, but I’d never been especially good at it. I could stay upright. So that’s basically where I started when I joined the league.”
From skate schools to derby matches, community events to regional tournaments, roller skating still has a home in the region.
Learning and leaning on each other
Like so many people, Bannon was looking for a new hobby for her family during the covid pandemic. But instead of baking bread or keeping bees, she landed on roller skating.
“It’s pretty inexpensive once you buy skates, and you can do it anywhere,” she said.
PGH SK8 Collaborative started in 2023, an organization born out of a desire to find more community and make skating as accessible to as many people as possible. The non-profit runs a “SK8 School,” skate nights for both all ages and adults, and holds special events such as school spirit nights.
It’s held the skate nights at Velum Fermentation on Pittsburgh’s South Side, as well as in Schenley Park during the warmer months. And it gets a booming turnout.
“For our family sessions, we’ll get like 60-100. Our adult sessions go anywhere from 80 to 150,” Bannon said. “At Schenley, the capacity is bigger, so our peak nights we can get over 100 for sure.”
In Westmoreland County, Kayla Sutton bought the Latrobe Skate Center in 2021 after the pandemic closed down the almost-80-year-old institution.
“It was probably going to close, and there’s not a lot for the kids to do in Latrobe. It’s just been here forever and we didn’t want to see it close,” Sutton said. “I really knew nothing about skating other than the memories I had … so it was definitely a learning curve, but we didn’t want to see it go away.”
Business is doing very well, according to Sutton. During open skate nights on Friday at Saturday, there are rarely fewer than 100 skaters on the rink, usually averaging at around 150-200.
And agewise, they run the gamut, with grandparents bringing their grandkids to share a hobby that they remember from childhood.
“We have people as young as 3 and we have 80-year-olds,” Sutton said.
The PSC also has members of all ages, from toddlers to octogenarians.
“It’s really for anyone, it’s really multi-generational, and I think it gives people an even playing field,” Bannon said.
There is another goal for the members of PSC — making skating as inclusive as possible in the Pittsburgh area. No roller rinks remain within city limits, and the nonprofit has set its sights on advocating for the Greater Pittsburgh Coliseum in Homewood South to return to its former glory as a rink.
Bannon said that Rico Rucker, PSC’s president and other founding member, is especially passionate about this issue. “He grew up skating at the Coliseum. He is a big Homewood advocate, and so a lot of his passion came from wanting to get the Coliseum to be a rink again. It still sits there empty.”
The building has sat vacant since 2018, and many in the community see it as a great opportunity to bring roller skating back to the area.
Despite the lack of designated all-season places to skate inside Pittsburgh city limits, Bannon said that she thinks a desire for connection, a dash of nostalgia for Generation X and millennial skaters, and even a hint of coolness has driven a resurgence of skating for all ages.
“With the younger kids, Gen Alphas, it’s ’90s. So it’s trendy for them. Also, it builds confidence, you don’t need a lot of equipment to skate, you can do it as little or as much as you want, and it’s fun.”
Sutton said that Latrobe Skate Center feels very nostalgic in that same way, with arcade games, music and concessions.
“They also do school parties, birthday parties and other private events. It brings back the memories of when we were kids and could just hang out and have fun with your friends and your family,” she said. “It’s the closest thing I’ve had to feeling like a kid and playing in a long time.”
A smashing success
Pittsburgh’s roller derby scene is certainly on a roll. From a men’s league vying for international acclaim to a constantly growing women’s league to a youth league training the next generation of lifers, the region is brimming with talent.
“I didn’t know much about roller derby at all,” said Jamie Fargo, a Mt. Lebanon lawyer who goes by “Ally McKill” in the Steel City Roller Derby league. She’s been with SCRD since its formation in 2006. “It was an interesting challenge because it was something new.”
Michele Maloney is board president for youth league Pittsburgh Derby Brats. All three of her daughters play in the league.
She became involved when her oldest, Casey, 15, wanted to pursue the sport after reading the young-adult graphic novel “Roller Girl” by Victoria Jamieson, and then found videos online that intrigued her further.
“I just wanted to know if there were juniors who did it,” Casey said. “I sent the videos to my mom and she looked into it.”
Now, all three of Maloney’s daughters are in Pittsburgh Derby Brats. “They love it,” she said. “It really just opened up a whole new world.”