A little rain didn’t stop Kansas City roller skaters from breaking in a new rink near the Historic 18th and Vine district on Wednesday.
The 16,000-square-foot roller rink at Blues Park was welcomed with a performance by a local skating school, an open skate session and a free lesson for beginners.
The $1.7 million facility also includes new sidewalks, pathways, restrooms, and a parking lot, and marks another development in Kansas City’s $400 million effort to revitalize the historic jazz district with infrastructure improvements and renovations to the area’s museums.
“This is something that we've needed for so long to be able to connect our skaters that's on the Kansas side and connect with our skaters on the Missouri side,” said Knejie Allen, founder of Kansas City skating school SK8SHOT Studios. Allen’s group performed to a medley of pop and R&B music at the unveiling.
“Roller skating rinks are all around the outskirts of town, so having somewhere central like this? Big, big deal,” Allen said.
The Blues Park rink, at 20th Street and Prospect Avenue, is the second public roller skating rink in Kansas City. The first is at Holmes Park, near East 70th Street and Holmes Road.
“This is about making sure that we have prosperity on Prospect,” said 3rd District City Council member Melissa Robinson, whose district includes Blues Park. “This is not about lip service, this isn't about just promising things. This is about delivering.”
The Blues Park roller skating rink is now open 5 a.m. until midnight daily, the same hours as the park. There are no skate rentals on site, so skaters must bring their own.
The 3rd District’s at-large Council member, Melissa Patterson Hazley, also pushed for the new skating rink.
“We've got a 24-hour daycare across the street that we invested in a few years ago, so we'll have little kids that'll be able to come over here for field trips to get exercise,” she said. “And then we've already seen that adults are going to enjoy this park.”
Kansas City resident Alicia Armstrong was at the ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday, where adults, teens, and kids rolled around the rink, grooving to music.
“When I was a kid I was roller skating instead of causing trouble, running around the neighborhood, and making messes,” she said. “It was music, hanging out with friends, having a great time.”
The area has seen a handful of Kansas City’s “Revive the Vine” investments come to fruition this year.
In May, the city celebrated a pedestrian mall in the heart of 18th and Vine that can be closed off to car traffic during festivals and special events. And earlier that month, the city unveiled a $20 million parking garage at 18th Street and Lydia Avenue with 480 spaces.
The historic Boone Theater also reopened in May following an $8.7 million restoration. The theater is now home to the Black Movie Hall of Fame, and will soon welcome local artists to showcase their work during pop-up events.
In February, City Council approved $3.2 million in renovations at the American Jazz Museum, and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum recently selected a contractor to move forward with a $35 million project to expand its campus.
SK8SHOT Studios founder Knejie Allen said his organization plans to host future skate events and lessons at the Blues Park rink.
“We've got to use this space, we’ve got to bring it to life,” Allen said. “They did the hardest part of the work, which is laying all of this, doing the groundbreaking. And our job is easy; We just bring people together and have a good time.”
