‘A promise kept:' An East Durham roller rink reopens with excitement for the future
Silk Sonic's 'Skate' blared through the speakers as dozens of people poured into the Wheels Durham roller-skating rink on Hoover Road on Thursday evening.
The walls still smelled of paint, and the star-pattern carpet glowed under the colorful overhead lights. On the shelves behind the counter, neatly lined red, yellow and blue skates waited for new feet to glide on the glossy rink.
Durhamites have waited for years for the city to reopen the roller rink in Merrick-Moore Park. The rink in the former Wheels Fun Park, which also had mini golf and go-karts, closed in 2020 after four decades of being a place to hold parties, hang out with friends, and learn to skate.
In 2021, the city bought the space and began renovations after residents demanded the return of the safe space for youth in East Durham.
'Tonight is so much more than just an opportunity for nostalgia,' City Manager Bo Ferguson said Thursday. 'Tonight is about a promise kept.'
More additions are coming to the Wheels Durham lot now that Durham voters approved a $200 million bond to fund parks and streets projects. Soon, an aquatic center will go beside Wheels that includes a lazy river, zero-depth entry pool, climbing wall and water slides.
Wheels Durham is now managed by United Skates of America, which operates a roller rink on Trawick Road in Raleigh and several other locations in the country. All weekend, the rink is holding events to celebrate the reopening and kick off months of events for youth, seniors, teens, and local groups.
As the night went on, people waited in line to trade their shoes for skates and waddle out onto the floor.
Mayor Leonardo Williams was the first to test out the new rink.
'I used to be a skater, but this floor is really tight, making it slippery,' he said after a few laps trying to keep his balance. 'I need to get different skates.'
Williams called the reopening of Wheels 'dope,' a word he sometimes uses to describe the city's happenings.
'When we get to refurbish childhood memories, when we get to bring things like this back to life, and not only bring it back to life but make it even better, that's pretty dope if you ask me,' he said.
Kristen Keith sat in front of the skating floor to secure the kid training skates on her 5-year-old twins and 2-year-old daughter.
'They really like to skate. We had been going to USA (skating rink) in Raleigh but haven't been in a while, so we were very excited to get their skates out,' Keith said.
A Durham native and resident, she was happy to bring her children to Wheels to create new memories in a restored building.
'I haven't been here since I was a child,' she said. 'But walking in here, it all felt very familiar.'
Wheels is the only roller skating rink in Durham and one of two in the Triangle. When it closed in 2020, some residents would travel to Raleigh's USA Skating Rink to skate or host parties.
Eddie Watson remembers when he skated to new hip-hop songs of the late 1980s and early '90s after Wheels relocated to Hoover Road from Roxboro Road.
'I'm happy it's back. Wheels was a big part of Black culture in Durham,' he said. 'There were different styles, and it gave you a better atmosphere to skate to.'
Watson teaches skating in Raleigh and is the founder of the Raleigh-Durham Skaters Association. Though the roller skating community isn't as large as in other cities like Atlanta, Watson said people are always excited for opportunities to skate regardless of age or resources.
At 58, he is still lacing up.
'Age doesn't matter,' he said. 'The will and the moment do.'
Outside of Wheels, an installation by Raleigh-based artist and muralist Dare Coulter takes up the front of the building.
The sculptures protruding out of the wall by the entrance are of different Durham residents who have skated at Wheels. On the opposite side are the words 'From Bull City With Love' above the Bull City hand sign.
'I can't tell y'all how long ago it was that I fell in love with this city but I can tell you that every day I know that Durham is a special place,' Coulter said during the ribbon-cutting ceremony. 'Y'all have to hold on to the magic. ... The beauty of right now is that we have memories to make.'
City Councilman Carl Rist said the reopening of Wheels is a model for how 'local government does good' and thanked residents for coming out.
Find more information about the Wheels' weekend events and open skating at unitedskates.com/wheels-durham.
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