A West Bank skating rink reopened for business Thursday following a nearly three-year closure due to Hurricane Ida damage.
Skate Country, located at 1100 Terry Parkway in Terrytown, hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony to inaugurate its comeback from Hurricane Ida, which tore the roof off the building and ruined the facility inside.
The business invested $1.1 million in renovations, including a $100,000 loan from the Jefferson Parish Economic Development Commission’s Growth Fund.
Ja'myri Skinner, left, Justin Walker dance on their skates at the reopening of Skate Country in Terrytown on Thursday, August 1, 2024. The longtime Jefferson Parish business has been shutdown since Hurricane Ida. (Photo by Chris Granger, The Times-Picayune)
It’s been a vital entertainment venue for people of the West Bank since it launched in 1979, said Councilman Marion Edwards. The owner, Bobby Ricouard, said the skate rink has provided Terrytown’s youth with a safe place to hang with friends on the weekends.
“I have skaters that from a little age have been here for a long time and now are adults,” Rigaud said. “One of them came to me and said, ‘Mr. Bobby, if it wasn’t for y’all, I’d probably be dead or in jail.’”
The relaunch also created 40 new part-time positions for the parish, JEDCO said.
The new Skate Country featured a wall of brand new skates against bright neon, ‘80s-style carpeting lined around the rink’s exterior. Following the ribbon cutting, skaters took to the cobalt blue wood floor, with experienced skaters twirling under the black lights while beginners gripped the walls for dear life.
Rows of colorful skates at Skate Country in Terrytown on Thursday, August 1, 2024. (Photo by Chris Granger, The Times-Picayune)
Six-year-old Quinn Lapeyrouse donned pastel pink light-up skates and knee pads as she clutched a skate trainer made of PVC pipe. It was her first time visiting the rink since she was two, she recalled.
She started out in the smaller children’s rink to get comfortable before graduating to the larger stage.
“I love skating now because I know how to do it!” she emphatically stated as she walked out the rink with her mother.
Jennifer Lapeyrouse, right, makes sure her daughter, Quinn, 6, doesn't fall as she gets up on her roller skates on the reopening of Skate Country in Terrytown on Thursday, August 1, 2024. The business has been shutdown since Hurricane Ida partially ripped off the roof. (Photo by Chris Granger, The Times-Picayune)
Skate Country is open from 8-11 p.m. on Thursdays, 7-10 p.m. on Fridays and from 1-10 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Admission prices range from $8 to $15, and skate rentals are $5.
Skate Country’s schedule offers the following events:
- “Adult Night” from 8-11 p.m. Thursdays
- “Top Music Chart Night” from 7-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday
- “Family Matinee” from 1-3:30 p.m. and 4-6:30 p.m. Saturday-Sunday
- “Sunday Night Skate” from 7-10 p.m. Sunday.?
Skate Country staff and Jefferson Parish officials cut a ribbon for the reopening of the skating rink in Terrytown on Thursday, August 1, 2024. JEDCO, in partnership with Jefferson Parish, hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony for the rink which has been closed for three years ever since Hurricane Ida ripped off part of the roof. (Photo by Chris Granger, The Times-Picayune)
Skate Country also offers lessons and private party packages.
“[Skate Country] has been a gathering spot for families, a training ground for athletes, and a safe haven for young,” said Ronald Johnson, a skater and ambassador for Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club. “We have seen generations glide across the smooth surface, from children taking their first wobbly steps to adults reliving their youth in every lap around the rink.”