It’s Been a Good Skate : Rink Will Close Its Doors, and With It an Era of Roller-Skating

As she carefully laced her black roller skates, Becky Tripp smiled and looked around the familiar setting of Skate Ranch, the popular Santa Ana roller rink where she spent countless summer nights as a teen-ager.

“When I was younger, this was the hangout, especially on Friday nights,” Tripp, 38, said before cautiously making her way onto the rink’s large wooden floor.

Although she hadn’t visited the skating rink in more than a decade, the Orange resident quickly found her old skating form and began to skate effortlessly around the rink.

Like many other locals recently, Tripp, along with her 15-year-old daughter, Lisa, had come to Skate Ranch to say goodby.

The red, barn-like facility, which has been a favorite hangout for generations of Orange County teen-agers and a training ground for dozens of world roller-skating champions, closed its doors to the public Sunday. It will host private parties until Thursday when it will close for the last time to make room for the widening of the Santa Ana Freeway.

“We heard it was closing, so that’s why we came,” Tripp said. “I just wanted to be here for one last roll. I had to show my daughter what a real roller rink is like.”

Skate Ranch, a familiar landmark along the freeway, was built in 1956 in the middle of a cornfield by Gordon (Budd) Van Roekel, said rink manager Dennis Collier, who has run the facility with his wife, Gail, since 1984.

The Colliers have leased the 23,000-square-foot building from the state since it was purchased by Caltrans from Van Roekel in 1987 for $3.1 million.

Caltrans will demolish the building sometime before August, 1992, when construction begins on a $57.8-million portion of the freeway widening, said Gary Slater, an associate transportation engineer for the freeway project.

The Colliers upgraded the facility during its final years with the knowledge that the state could have closed them down with a mere 90-day notice, which happened in July.

“We put the last bit of life into the old building,” Collier said as he pointed to the rink, which is surrounded by flashing lights and pictures of barnyard animals that are painted on the walls. “But pretty soon, this whole thing will be a freeway.”

On Tuesday, the Colliers held an auction which drew a crowd of more than 40 skating rink operators and some members of the public. They sold more than 500 pairs of roller skates to a rink operator from Los Angeles, as well as sound equipment and tables to other rink operators.

The most popular items among the public were the more than a dozen lights made out of wagon wheels, as well as various red wooden signs which hung around the rink stating the rules and identifying the restrooms and pro shop.

“Some people who used to skate here wanted a piece of Skate Ranch before it got torn down,” Collier said. “We let go of everything. All you really can’t let go of are the memories.”

In addition to operating the rink for novice and recreational skaters, the Colliers, who were named 1990 Teachers of the Year by the Society of Roller Skating Teachers of America, have devoted much of their time to coaching a number of world champions who train at the facility.

“I think everyone has skated here at one time or another,” Collier said. “This rink is into its third generation here, that’s the sad part. It’s a landmark. Unfortunately, it’s all coming to an end.”

The closure comes as a major blow to the couple’s skating pupils, many of whom say they will follow the Colliers to the new rink they have opened in Tulsa, Okla.

“I wish they could rebuild it somewhere nearby,” said 14-year-old Erin Parquette, who was a national champion at the elementary school level. “I want to be a part of the national team, so I’ll be following my coaches to Oklahoma.”

“It’s hard,” said 22-year-old Marcos Prolo, a former professional roller skater who now works at the rink. “We knew (the closure) was coming, but it just seems to be happening so fast. I think the state should have considered the fact that it’s been here for so long before deciding to tear it down. Everybody loves it here--it’s a part of the city.”

Roller Skating Rinks in O.C.

Buena Park Rollertorium

7951 Commonwealth Ave.

Buena Park

Family Fun Center (outdoor)

1041 N. Shepard Ave.

Anaheim

Fountain Valley Skating Center

9105 Recreation Circle

Fountain Valley

Holiday Skating Center

175 N. Wayfield St.

Orange