Comments on: Skateland: Brooklyn Park, MN

By: Moosie

Moosie — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 19:02:43 +0000

Oh man… Skateland…

My parents and I would spend every Sunday night there up until I was in middle school… I was a regular from about 1993 to somewhere around 2000. I was the messy little girl with the bright pink wheels and who thought she could do all the same tricks as her Daddy (who has been going there since sometime in the 70s) and would usually end up hurting herself in the process. I want to say Skateland closed right before I graduated from high school in 2006. I remember going into American Furniture Liquidation to look at dorm furniture. It was quite sad… nothing had changed. All the murals were still on the walls and the rink was still there, except it had couches all over it.

By: Jason

Jason — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:24:42 +0000

I had my prized brand new Asics Tigers stolen as I skated at an All-Night skate, circa 1985-86, when I was in 6th grade. I remember walking out to the parking lot in my socks at 6am and having to tell my very frugal mom that those expensive shoes she just bought were stolen. I also got squirted with a squirt gun when I began to doze around 5:00 am or so. Those skateland “cops” didn’t mess around!!! If you even closed your eyes for longer than a blink, they were right there blasting people with that squirt gun.

Also, remember that show fear factor? It just got so predictable with all the food gross-out stuff. If they really wanted to test a person’s fear factor, see if any of them will lick the inside of a rental roller skate. Perhaps followed by sticking their tongue in the holes of a house bowling ball. Now that’s fear factor, baby! All those people who think they’re something because they can eat a cow’s testicle, let’s see them try that!

By: AM

AM — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 22:01:23 +0000

Skateland? Holy crap, that same parent company(United Skates of America, but not sure if the company owned all their rinks, or if they were franchised) used to operate roller rinks all over the country, and there was one very close to where I grew up called Rainbo Roller Rink(torn down a few years ago for a new condo complex that I’ve heard through the rumor grapevine has BARELY sold any condos at all, b/c the recession hit 1-2 years after condo sales for that building began, plus not one retail space on its first floor has sold). If you’ve ever seen the cover for the Smashing Pumpkins single ’1969′, the band members stood directly in front of the sign that led to Rainbo’s infamous arcade, plus both me and my brother went to many parties there as kids!

Do I need to add they also operated a rink(interestingly called Skateland too, lmao) on the west side of Indianapolis I always passed by on vacations going through Indianapolis on I-465 west of the city? The amazing thing is, I discovered thanks to google that it’s still open, but as an independent rink today!

http://maps.google.com/maps?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=skateland+indianapolis&fb=1&gl=us&hq=skateland&hnear=indianapolis&cid=0,0,3580786612291287902&ei=-IRTS4ryMYiGNoOhoYsJ&sa=X&oi=local_result&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CAsQnwIwAA

note: move the orange guy in the left corner over the end of the entrance ramp going north from 38th St. to northbound I-465, you will get a very clear Street View image of the rink I saw countless times passing through Indy. The now unpainted spot on the right part of the building was where the United Skates of America logo was once painted, but enjoy!)

By: Nick

Nick — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 05:19:01 +0000

Too funny! Did you go to Sandburg? I think we went to the same middle school.

By: Rev. Dave

Rev. Dave — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 18:54:37 +0000

I too was at Skateland in 1972, wild. I held hands with a GIRL with romantic intent for the first time. Wow, what a rush that was! Her name was Cheryl.

Farrell’s? Oh yes. It was one of the first places where I applied for my first job ever. I wound up a pizza cook at Broadway Pizza Robinsdale from 1976 to 1979.

By: KE

KE — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:53:28 +0000

I remeber getting jumped there after an overnight lock-in… I was there with my cousin and her friend and they both sat there and watched as 2 girls beat me up.

By: Derrick

Derrick — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 02:52:52 +0000

Friggin awesome place. I remember my friends wore zubas there around 1990 in 7th grade. Ha ha ha. I never was that stupid to buy into that fad. Loved Milli Vanilli though…That place had some “mint” tracks they played.

My one friend was in 7th grade, and was embarrased that he had tube socks on with colored stripes on the top, so he cut the top elastic part. His frigging socks were floppin all over his skates. So funny. Same kid was afraid to talk to these pretty girls and hid the whole time in the boys bathroom.

By: DeKay

DeKay — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 03:30:38 +0000

I was at Skateland around 1972. Super shy, couldn’t skate and my friends said it was a great place to meet chicks. I remember trying to prop myself up along the outer wall and some asshole had smeared their spit all along it.
BTW, that skate building in Burnsville is virtually identical, colors and all. Decades later I learned that the twin cities was also divided into a north and south. Any establishment/franchise on 694 had its twin on 494. Farrell’s (sp?) Ice Cream Parlor, remember?
http://www.happyitis.biz/History/chapter02.html

By: Disco Studd

Disco Studd — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 03:41:23 +0000

Cub moved into that building they’re in now sometime after 1988, whenever they built Target Greatland. I know for sure that T/G and the new Cub were already built in 1993 (my mom and stepdad had their wedding reception at the Sheraton Northwest in 93 and I had to take my GF to T/G to buy a pair of pantyhose in the middle of the reception,) so it had to have been built sometime between 88 and 93. The building they were in before that, but after the Carousel Bingo building, is that building on Jolly Ln across from SA that has TJ Maxx on one side and (possibly, I don’t quite remember) Office Max on the other. I’m certain that Cub was in that building, as we lived in that area from 81 to 88 and shopped at that Cub religiously. I wanna say Cub opened in the TJ Maxx building in 1982 or 1983. But yeah, it was probably 3 times the size of the old Cub! FWIW, the Cub at Northtown has the exact same layout inside that the old “TJ Maxx” Cub had.

By: dumpystripmalls

dumpystripmalls — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:41:55 +0000

I believe you’re correct about it being a Cub Foods. I was too young in ’81-’82ish to remember it, but I KNOW I’ve read somewhere that it used to be a Cub. Cub moved over to its current location by the BP Target Greatland (I worked as a cashier there in ’97 for all of 6 months) somewhere around 84-85ish. I remember this specifically because we NEVER shopped at Cub before it was its current location. We always went to the SuperValu in Village North for groceries. One Saturday night, my aunt & uncle were over at our house and my mom asked her if she wanted to go to the new Cub with her and I tagged along. I remember being in awe at Cub – I thought it was HUGE…of course, I was only 5 or 6 years old then, so everything at that age looks huge!