Sean Tisone, owner of the Cortland Roller Rink which will be opening in December.

CORTLAND — After being closed since 2018, a new owner has taken over the Cortland Roller Rink with plans to open by mid-December.

Boardman resident Sean Tisone purchased the roller rink property this year and has been working through the summer and fall to get it ready for opening by year’s end.

Tisone said the city has had a roller rink for 85 years — until 2018.

He said the original roller rink burned down in the 1970s before the current rink was rebuilt in the mid-1970s by Jim DiGiacobbe with two additions made to the building.

“It is one of the largest indoor skating rinks. The building has more than 30,000 square feet and the rink is 3,200 square feet and the floor is solid maple 180 feet by 80 feet, which allows it to be a competitive rink,” Tisone said.

He said because of the coronavirus pandemic and people trying to find things to do, roller skating outside has gained a lot of interest this year.

“The demand for skates has increased. I can’t even buy skates to sell at this point. There is a six-month wait. People have been looking for things to do outside,” Tisone said.

He said he hopes in the near future people can come inside roller rinks, wearing masks and following safety guidelines to be able to skate.

TOP TO BOTTOM

Tisone said he purchased the building for seven figures.

“This has been an emotional roller coaster trying to get this done with the coronavirus. When we open, there will be two people disinfecting all day,” he said.

“We have been redoing the building from top to bottom. I would love to be open mid-December but it depends on what the governor says. There is still some uncertainty,” he said.

“People are excited and keep coming by and poking their heads in. Kids ride their bikes in the parking lot wanting to know when it will be open. Everyone is bored and want things to do ,” he said.

Tisone also noted skating is competitive.

“The last owner made skates for the skating competitors. Mark Shehayda, who was my art teacher at Canfield High School, made the skates. When I was going through some old pictures, I found some of him since he was the skating coach for many of the competitors. There were skaters from this rink who won national titles,” he said.

He said DiGiacobbe left him the skate-building equipment and molds to be used for building roller rink skates. In addition, former employees or relatives of former employees at the rink are coming back including the granddaughter of an original owner.

“We have the mold to build the whole boot. It’s like an impression you step into,” he said.

RETRO-NOSTALGIA

Plans for the building are to revamp it to a 1980s retro-theme, with arcade and video games from that time period.

“When I was younger, me and the other kids were dropped off at the skating rinks and today the parents come too. We are planning to have a small restaurant and a 4,000-square-foot addition for an arcade room and snack bar area. Some of the games will be what many of the parents grew up with,” Tisone said.

He said there will be a clothing shop with retro-nostalgic clothing.

Skating was very popular in the disco days of the late 1970s and early 1980s. But after that, skating rinks began to decline.

Tisone said nationwide 1,600 skating rinks operate.

“When the roller rinks were sold it was easier for the buildings to be sold for drug stores, grocery stores and other businesses. The roller rinks were often on major thoroughfares in town,” Tisone said.

Trumbull County has not had a roller rink since Champion Skating Rink burned down late last year. Other rinks in operate in Austintown, Boardman and Hermitage, Pa.

Tisone said the Cortland site can become a mini-event center with Nerf ball competition, dodge ball, pickleball, bands, banquets, state-of-the-art light and sound shows and birthday parties held Thursday to Sunday.

“We want to provide a place for people to have something to do. This has been a labor of love,” he said.

CITY APPROVAL

Tisone said he had to get approval from the city’s planning commission to get the property’s parcels replatted and then approval from Trumbull County officials.

“It was a three-month process slowed down due to the coronavirus.” he said.

Alan Ricks of Canfield, a broker associate with Platts Realty Group, went with Tisone to city council to explain plans for the property.

Tisone said along with the interior changes, plans call for cleaning up the property, parking lot, and nearby vacant lots.

Cortland Council President Kevin Piros said he was excited about the plans and stopped last week to speak with Tisone.

“What he plans to do is impressive. He shared his vision of what he wants to have there and to bring the roller rink into the 21st century. … It will be a crown jewel for our community and something everyone can be proud of,” he said.

Piros said with the Champion Roller Rink no longer in existence, the local rink reopening will fill a void.

Mayor Deidre Petrosky said she and other officials are excited to see the building being used again as a roller rink.

“We are glad what Sean is planning. Anyone could have purchased the property and torn it down. He is planning to bring back a roller rink,” she said.

Tisone said his two daughters are ages 12 and 17, with the younger never seeing the inside of a roller rink.

‘My younger daughter and six of her friends tried on skates and had so much fun inside here. They liked how their bodies were moving faster than they should,” he said.

bcoupland@tribtoday.com