STATESVILLE, N.C. — A local skating rink said it’s shutting its doors to the public after 40 years due to its customers’ “increased blatant disrespect and racial and confrontational views.”
Statesville Skateland posted the announcement on its Facebook page saying the decision is in the best interest of its customers and the community.
“Unfortunately, with the increasing tensions in our diverse community and the world we must consider the safety and wellbeing of all our fellow community members who we serve,” the post read.
Sharon Linder and her family enjoy skating so much, they said they keep their skates ready to go in their SUV. On average, they went to Statesville Skateland twice a month.
“Honestly, I was pretty heartbroken,” Linder said. “We’ve been patronizing the skating rink for about four years now. And it’s always been a positive environment for the kids.”
Skerrika Bradshaw lives near the rink and said her 13-year old daughter went to Skateland often with friends.
“I think it would really help out if parents would just try to stay there with their children,” Bradshaw said. ”Make sure they’re not misbehaving where they want to shut this down because we don’t have anything else left around here for our children.”
Linder said she saw people break things at the business and also believes more adult supervision would have helped.
“There were a lot of little rivalries that were spurring into disagreements, escalating into fights,” she said. “And apparently that had been a recurring theme over at the rink lately.”
The long-time community staple said it will continue hosting private functions, but its doors will remain closed to the public “until the world can come together and stop this nonsense.”
The rink will honor all parties that have already booked through June.
Cox Media Group
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