Grab your skates — a new roller rink is opening up at The Rink at Rockefeller Center this spring!
Created in partnership with Tishman Speyer and Flipper’s Roller Boogie Palace, the rink will bear the Flipper’s name and is the latest element in Rockefeller Center’s campus-wide redevelopment. This rink is being revived by Liberty Ross, daughter of Ian “Flipper” Ross who ran the original legendary cultural hotspot of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s.
Flipper’s will open to the public on April 15 and run through October 2022. This is the first time since 1940 that the Rockefeller Center rink will feature roller skating in the warmer months.
“Roller skating at Rockefeller Center will be a quintessentially New York moment,” said Rob Speyer, CEO of Tishman Speyer. “We are thrilled to welcome Flipper’s as a partner in transforming the Rink Level at the Center, and can’t wait to see everyone out there.”
“Our goal is to build world-class spaces where everyone is welcome; spaces where connection and self-expression roll free, without judgment or prejudice,” explains Ross, Co-Founder, Flipper’s Roller Boogie Palace. “It’s my hope to support the amazing roller skating community and the future of the sport, while welcoming the curious to the freedom and fun that is roller skating. Flipper’s is—and always has been—a place for individuality, experimentation, joy and respect.”
The original Flipper’s Roller Boogie Palace was a family-run business in West Hollywood, Los Angeles that served as a mecca for uninhibited fun for those who love roller skating. Flipper’s Roller Boogie Palace returns to NYC with the mission of uniting people through the joy of roller skating.
The addition of Flipper’s Roller Boogie Palace is the latest in Rockefeller Center’s renovations. The opening of the roller rink coincides with a reopening of The Rink Level following extensive work to restore it to the vision of the original architects.
The Rink will serve as a grand entrance from the Plaza and Channel Gardens, and the glass doors surrounding The Rink restore the ability to walk in and out and view the skaters in the Plaza while filling the indoor Rink Level with light and air. Flipper’s Roller Boogie Palace will be smaller than the traditional ice skating rink, which allows more room for the public to watch the skaters, and the sunken plaza serve as a gathering space with tables, chairs, and green spaces.
Flipper’s Roller Boogie Palace at The Rink at Rockefeller Center will be open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Monday-Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 12 a.m. Thursday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 12 a.m. on Saturdays and 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sundays. Tickets start at $20 for adults and $12 for children under 15, not including skate rentals. To purchase tickets, visit flippers.world.
