Cal Skate Chico FunLand is preparing to close temporarily as the nearly 50-year-old skating rink changes ownership, leaving local skating groups uncertain about when, or whether, they’ll be able to return.
The rink’s final day under its current ownership is Aug. 16. Renovations are expected to keep the facility closed for at least the rest of the year, but skaters say they know little about the new owners or what they have planned for the Chico landmark.
For Nor Cal Roller Derby, the closure means losing its longtime home for practices and competitions.
“We're kind of in this space of uncertainty, and then a lot of us are heartbroken because this is a special place for us,” said the team’s head of public relations, Leslie Bowen, who goes by Foxtrot on the track.
The team will play its final home game under the current ownership Saturday against San Luis Obispo’s Central Coast Roller Derby. Beyond that, members don’t know when they might be able to use the rink again.
“We had a bunch of questions about what it meant for us, what our access to the facilities was going to look like, and we discovered that we would basically be out of our home,” Bowen said.
What comes after renovations remains unclear
The closure comes as the property is being privately sold.
Nor Cal Roller Derby President Katie Dahl, who skates as Poison Ivy, said the team has been told renovations will take at least the rest of the year. But she said members have had little communication with the new owners and don’t know what the renovated facility will look like.
“The word renovations can mean a lot of different things,” Dahl said.
“I grew up going to Cal Skate with my grandparents, and I hope long-term that they'll continue that track because it has been such a hub for our community,”- Katie Dahl, NorCal Roller Derby President
She said the team is supportive of improvements to the rink and excited that skating will remain part of its future.
“I personally am optimistic, and I believe that the new owners are going to recognize how important the skate rink is,” Dahl said.
Cal Skate has served generations of skaters from Chico and surrounding cities like Orland and Durham.
“I grew up going to Cal Skate with my grandparents, and I hope long-term that they'll continue that track because it has been such a hub for our community,” Dahl said.
In the meantime, NorCal Roller Derby is searching for another place to practice. They need about 9,600 square feet of space with smooth floors, bathrooms and parking, all at a price the team can afford.
“We're looking for spaces still in Chico that meet all of those needs, and we're reaching out to other nonprofits and community service groups to see what is available to us,” Dahl said.
Dahl said the team has survived other disruptions, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the Camp Fire, and expects to get through this one as well.
“Our team's going to make it,” Bowen said, “but we want our home.”
Chico Artistic Skate Club also loses its home rink
The uncertainty extends beyond roller derby.
The Chico Artistic Skate Club, a competitive artistic roller skating club that has called Cal Skate home since 1990, is also searching for alternatives. Its skaters range in age from 6 to 60.
Club President, Jody Harrah, who also works at Cal Skate, was in Lincoln, Nebraska, with skaters and employees for t a national championship when she learned about the ownership change.
“We're just really hoping that we can hang on to some sort of what we have with the new ownership, so that's kind of what we're waiting on at the moment.”- Jody Harrah, Chico Artistic Skate Club President
“We kind of had to let them know that not only were we losing our home rink, but we're also potentially losing employment, we're not sure yet,” Harrah said.
Harrah said information remains limited as the current owners work through the transition.
She said they’ve started exploring other temporary practice locations. and has reached out to other skating rinks, including one in Redding. The club has also received offers of help from rinks in the Sacramento area.
“We're just really hoping that we can hang on to some sort of what we have with the new ownership, so that's kind of what we're waiting on at the moment,” Harrah said.
Harrah hopes the new owners preserve the skating floor and allow the artistic skating club, roller derby team and other skaters to eventually return to the rink.
The City of Chico declined to share ownership information on the building.
