SkateWorld roller skating rink reopening over a year after tornado ripped through Deer Park

DEER PARK, Texas — A popular roller skating rink in Deer Park will reopen its doors over a year after a tornado ripped through the beloved business.

In January 2023, a devastating EF-3 tornado tore through Pasadena and Deer Park, leaving SkateWorld in shambles.

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On Wednesday, the rink opened up for family and friends.

SkateWorld’s owner, J. Malone, grew up at the skating rink, which his mom and dad first ran in the early 60s.

Luckily, the business had good insurance when the tornado hit.

“I was thinking, ‘dude, I could take this money and run, and then, this is what I do. What was I going to do? And don’t think the community would have liked it very much if I had just closed it. It was a staple,” Malone said.

Carter Malone, who towers over all of the skaters in his size fourteen skates, is J. Malone’s son.

Carter is also also SkateWorld’s general manager. 

He said the past fifteen months have been tough, but he knew in his gut SkateWorld had to rebuild.

“It’s kind of hard to close. I mean, we’d post a picture and 20 minutes later it’d have a thousand likes,” Carter said. “There’s not a skating rink like this around that I’ve seen.”

J. Malone is proud of how the skating rink turned out. He said it’s better than ever.

He said his dad would’ve thought so, too.

“He’d think it’d be awesome. I think he’d love it, yeah,” J. Malone said. 

For three generations, the Malone family has brought the joy of roller skating to residents living south of Houston.

SkateWorld reopens Friday, May 24, 2024 at 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.

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