College Station is a growing city with a physically active population. We are seeing increased investment into recreational facilities throughout the city. We believe that among these investments should be a roller hockey rink.
There is only one roller hockey rink in the Bryan-College Station area, located at Neal Park in Bryan. The Neal Park rink is in desperate need of repairs and is located far from College Station population centers, almost a 30-minute drive during rush hour traffic. It is also not a very family-friendly rink at times.
A roller hockey rink can serve multiple user groups and activities: Roller hockey, bike polo, street soccer/futsal, family skating, roller skating... Additionally, roller hockey is a great sport for younger children and is a much more economical option compared to ice hockey/skating which requires paying fees for time on the ice.
A possible location for a roller hockey rink in CS could be integrated with the Pickleball/Futsal complex being proposed in Anderson park. A regulation futsal court meets the regulation minimum size for a roller hockey rink. One opportunity could be to set aside one of these courts for a roller rink. This would provide a great central location for skating enthusiasts to meet and skate in a safe setting.
I grew up going to the skating rink here every weekend. I would skate around to backstreet boys then skate on over to the concession stand for some cheap nachos until I got blisters. I feel like so many kids here are missing out on how fun it is plus it’s good exercise For people of all ages. Those old-school folks can roll and they’ll put me to shame any day. For a town with such a big population and more food restaurants then I can count, I think it’s a missed opportunity Not having a skating rink here… we need entertainment too. Families will love it, students will love it, people can have birthday parties there, it’s just a good idea.