Dawn Walker still sounds kind of blown away when she talks about how quickly the community effort came together.
Her daughter, like millions of others during the pandemic, took part in the national resurgence of roller skating.
Banned from gathering indoors at common gathering places like movie theaters, restaurants and shopping centers, her daughter laced up her skates and took to the outdoors.
“And I was like, ‘I remember skating when I was a kid, I want to get back on skates,’” she recalled, standing next to her husband, Dan, not far from the city of Santa Clarita’s groundbreaking that had taken place Friday next to the Santa Clarita Sports Complex.
But she had a problem.
“So, I bought skates, and I didn’t have anyone to skate with,” she said.
Figuring she wasn’t the only one, she put it out on Facebook, and the response was the first of many times she’s been taken aback by the community support for one of her favorite pastimes.
The Skating Mamas of SCV was the result, a group that now has about 1,700 members and meets regularly on Saturdays in Castaic.
Santa Clarita Mayor Cameron Smyth credited advocacy from community groups, naming the Mamas specifically, as the drive behind what brought the city to celebrate the start of its $25 million investment in a 25,000-square-foot “multiuse roller-skating rink.”
Walker said since the initial gathering, the group has taken on a more inclusive name, “Skating Mamas And Anyone Who Skates of SCV,” although the gathering of skaters Friday by the basketball courts at the Santa Clarita Sports Complex next to the site where the rink will be built was predominately women.
However, all are welcome, said skating group member Elise Ginsburg, adding that through its Instagram and Facebook pages, the Mamas have coalesced the group with others, including Whee on Wheels and Let’s Roll, for skate meetups.
While the passion and roller skating may come and go — during his comments, Smyth harkened back to the days of Skate ‘N’ Place, which was near the current site of MB2 Entertainment — the rink facility is meant to accommodate much more than skating.
“What’s unique about it, is the ability for that space to be used for multiple recreational activities, like small-side soccer, pickleball, some temporary basketball courts there as well,” Smyth said after a recent planning discussion for the facility. “So, we’re excited about that. It’s more than just a roller-skating facility.”
Roller-skating enthusiasts will be able to enjoy about half the floor space for the new facility, with courts, seating and an entertainment area creating a “championship” venue for the city’s intramural events, according to a recent City Hall presentation by Lance O’Keefe, the city’s recreation and community services manager.
“We’ll have three pickleball courts inside this venue,” Araz Valijan, city project manager, said during the City Hall discussion in May. “So, the rink itself is 12,000 square feet with three pickleball courts, a volleyball court and a full-size basketball court inside the rink, and then folks can obviously roller skate. The material will be wood so they can easily skate throughout.”
In terms of how the skaters’ grassroots efforts have worked out, Walker said she’s more than happy with the city.
“We really wanted to get a space dedicated, we thought maybe somewhere outdoors they could just, you know, we could cordon it off or something,” Walker said of the initial ask to the city. “But they took it, they took it and ran with it, and before we knew it, they said they’re gonna build up the rink.
“We’re so incredibly grateful to the city,” she said, “because safety-wise, I feel like it’s safer to be in a rink with a good core that doesn’t have hazards.” Dan added that safety is a priority for the group and something members help each other with.
The city has identified April 2026 as a tentative goal for the opening of the new rink.
