Skate Express

"You can bring your own skates too, just pay the admission Music is good the floors are great They have roller skates and roller blades, the roller blades were lighter and easier to handle for me"

"It's great to see skate Express hanging in there. Was there only on an adult only 20+ skate night, the place was packed when we left with just 90 minutes left of the 2100-0100 Friday night session. Perhaps over 200 people there. Rough estimate.9feb24. Apparently they allow food and drinks to be brought in by the adults, so they shut their snack bar down. The location is doing several reconstruction projects , redecorating, and other projects. They are much more relaxed than the old days in some of the old behavior and standards and employee behavior. The DJ published skating rules such as fast skaters to the outside and slow skaters to the middle and the floor guards would escort beginner skaters to the middle, and chase some slower skaters to the mid lanes or inside lanes if they skated too slow, but would ignore some skaters either dancing in place at the end of the ovals in the lane of traffic or slow couple skating on the wall, even after chasing other slow skaters away from the wall. The selective enforcement leaves consistency to be desired. One of the two floor guards was wearing her referee jersey over her neck with only one arm in the jersey, and the rest bunched up around her neck. The DJ only talked to the audience while music was playing, so it was difficult to hear his instructions. This is either due to speakers being old or his voice was not distinct to rise above the music being played he was speaking over. This Friday night session had about six to fifteen novice skaters at any one time on the floor, and the skill and pace of the rest of the skaters made a slightly dangerous environment for the beginners, but as it got crowded the staff did a good job of escorting skaters back and forth from the entrance of the rink to the center and back as needed. The floor guards were about 90% on it for protecting any skaters standing back up after falling. So that was very good. Twice with a bad multi skater pile up the DJ told everyone heads up, but again it was not that distinct over the music. If you already were not paying attention you might have missed it Only a couple people were observed listening to their own music with ear buds. The rental skates were in good repair for rental skates. The floor was well maintained, the new carpet looked great. Everyone there seemed to be having a great time. Was a great vibe. The music was advertised as hip hip/ r&b. Most of the songs did not seem to have much in the way of distinguishing lyrics, not being current in the last twenty years of hop hop, was not familiar with any of the music. Not that important. There was only a few skaters that smelled of thick marijuana, no evidence of drug use in the building were observed, no drunk people were observed or at least behaving on a drunk manner. So the behavior of all the patrons was good (except for the 4 individuals dancing and not rolling at each end of the oval, in traffic)"

"Visited on a Sunday evening for the adult skating session. $24 includes the skate rental and admission. This place is not maintained well, staff are all rude and condescending. This place is not inclusive at all. People visit to give skating a try, and you’re met with patronizing staff members who criticize you on your every move. It was very evident early on that this establishment is catering to a specific crowd, those who only know how to skate well. I witnessed first time skaters who could barely balance themselves on skates get forced into the middle of the rink by one of the skating rinks “safety guards” or whatever you may call them, because they weren’t enforcing any safety standards by any measure. I felt really bad for this one guy who couldn’t skate well because he kept falling and it was OBVIOUS he needed to hold on to the edges of the rink for balance and support, and instead of allowing him to continue supporting himself, they told him and many other skaters who couldn’t dance and skate at the same time, to move into the middle of the rink and pretty much get out of the way of the rest of the more experienced skaters. This was just outright negligence on behalf of the staff members because you are now subjecting inexperienced skaters to compromising their safety and that of others. It was just an atmosphere of inconsideration on behalf of ALL of the staff members, including the DJ who made an announcement that all the “dancers” (experienced skaters) to move to the outer part of the rink so that they could have more space to move as they want. If you were to stop for just a few seconds, you were immediately approached by a staff member who would tell you that you need to keep it pushing for god knows what reason. I honestly did not see any of the inexperienced skaters posing any harm or danger to any of the other more experienced skaters. In fact, the more experienced skaters knew how to maneuver themselves well around those who couldn’t skate well so clearly there’s not much of an issue there. It was clear that they just wanted to cater to the more experienced skaters that evening and discourage anyone else from taking up any space on the rink. Staff isn’t there at all to assist, or to even assess any potentially unsafe situations, instead they encourage an unsafe environment all in the interest of those who are more adept at skating. The staff member on the rink that was wearing the referee jersey that night would just spend her time doing laps for her own enjoyment and policing those who weren’t up to par to her skating expectations. This does not make for an inclusive environment whatsoever. We all paid money to your establishment that evening and therefore we should all be treated fairly and equally rather than being judged for our inadequacy in our skating efforts. This place needs to do better in creating a safer and inclusive environment because it’s clear that you don’t want any inexperienced people on the rink. People get hurt in these types of situations. And the patronizing attitudes from your staff members do not help those who could use some assistance in learning. Not once did I witness their safety staff member on the rink help someone up from falling. All you were ever met with was a scrutinizing attitude whenever you did something wrong. Don’t discriminate against your clientele that can’t skate, they pay the same money that those who can skate do and at the end of the day this is a BUSINESS and business doesn’t discriminate against those who pay. If you want to host a night exclusive to experienced skaters then advertise as such, we’re all there to have a good time and not to be made felt badly for our inexperience."

"I came to Skate Express tonight with some new skates I bought during the pandemic. I skated as a kid and was pretty good. now that I'm 54 I was very rusty. I got out on the floor and thought the skates were needing some attention. Dana at the merchandise counter was so helpful and adjusted them for free. Skating a lot smoother I picked up my pace and started to feel the DJ mixing in the soundbooth. Unfortunately I fell. I actually did the splits and fell hard! My left quad took the brunt and was not able to get up. All of a sudden, I had a group around me helping and protecting me from the skate traffic. I grew up at the skate rink and I have never seen the help I received from these angels. I wish I got some names to thank personally but they helped me off the floor so gingerly and caring without enough time for me to get their names. Especially want to thank the beautiful black female floor guard for her help untying and removing my skates. Also the two people that put their arms around me to get me to safety. I can't thank you enough! I highly recommend Skate Express! Although it was a short outing the kindness shown to me by the staff and clientele will not soon be forgotten. God bless you!!! Matt"

"Great place to have a good time skating with great music.And their staff is very helpful. The party reservations are still a good price with many choices of upgrades. All in all a great time to be had by all."