On a Roll Again: The Rink Opens for Business

Brad Armstrong was all smiles Friday night.

“It’s finally open!” he shouted, his arms outstretched.

Armstrong is one of the co-owners of , a longtime roller skating rink on Bradshaw Road that and reopened Friday.  

The Rink was bustling with families Friday, and every few seconds another kid would tap Armstrong’s shoulder and ask about the next activity. The boy who had just eaten ice cream laden with nacho cheese, pickles and other odd toppings was eager to compete in the next “gross out” competition.

“I just hope all the kids who used to come here can come here [again],” Armstrong said, his voice hoarse.

Rancho Cordova resident Greg Elzea said he started skating with his daughter when she was 6 or 7, but has also taken an interest in it as a way to exercise. He said he was sad to see the rink, formerly known as King’s Skate Country, close.

“We hated to see it just go away and turn into another empty building in town,” said Elzea, dripping with sweat.

Butch Pennington, a south Sacramento resident who used to skate at a roller rink in that area until it was converted into a gym, said he loves skating both as a family activity and as exercise.

“My kids and I love to skate,” Pennington said. “For some reason it stuck to me.”

Pennington said he sees roller skating as a great way to keep kids off the streets.

Kelsie Tennyson moved to Sacramento just two months before King’s Skate Country closed, and said he was glad to have it reopen.

“It’s just my hobby. It’s what I do,” Tennyson said, adding that he got into roller skating because an Arizona roller rink was the only place he could find a job as a 14-year-old.