Rockefeller Center ice skating rink will flip to roller rink for first time since 1940
Put on your skates and boogie on down to Rockefeller Center — your roller skates, that is.
The ice-skating plaza in Midtown is being transformed to a roller-skating rink that will open in April. It’ll be the first roller skate rink at Rockefeller Center since 1940.
Fashion model and author Liberty Ross introduced her family-owned Flipper’s Roller Boogie Palace brand to New Yorkers Tuesday after announcing the partnership with Tishman Speyer, the owner of Rockefeller Center. Flipper’s is a West Hollywood-based roller rink that was popular with celebrities in the early ‘80s.
The tourist-friendly ice rink, which closes Sunday, will be replaced and stored elsewhere until next winter. A smaller rink will be installed and is scheduled to open to the public on April 15.
“Flipper’s is — and always has been — a place for individuality, experimentation, joy and respect,” Ross said in the announcement.
For two years starting in 1979, Flipper’s Roller Boogie Palace was a hotspot attracting celebrities like Cher, Patrick Swayze, Prince, Robin Williams, the Go-Go’s and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Considered to be “Studio 54 on Wheels,” the Ian “Flipper” Ross-founded venue was shuttered by authorities for not having the property permits to operate.
For the New York City revival, the rink will be designed by fashion show producer Alexandre de Betak and will also feature a viewing deck and retail store.
DJ sets, concerts and skating classes are also planned while the rink is operational through October.
“Roller skating at Rockefeller Center will be a quintessentially New York moment,” Tishman Speyer CEO Rob Speyer said in a statement.
Flipper’s Roller Boogie Palace at The Rink at Rockefeller Center will stay open through 10 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday, and until midnight Thursday through Saturday. Tickets cost $20 and must be reserved.
