Orbit Skate Center Seeking Help After June Storm Warped Floor
CHICAGO (CBS) -- An historical roller rink in the north suburbs needs help to save its floor after a violent storm warped the wood last month.
For close to 45 years, a generation of children and parents has been skating at Orbit Roller Rink in Palatine.
"When it opened in 1972, it was the height of the Disco age and people were lined down the block to get in," recalled Sandra Levin, who has owned Orbit since 1992.
She said thousands have skated there, had parties there, or taken lessons or classes there. Some folks have brought their grandchildren to skate where they grew up.
But Levin said rain from a June storm damaged the original skating floor.
"The storm was bad. It was on a Wednesday night and people were skating here. We have emergency doors directly at the back of the building that open outward, and rain was pouring through under those doors. While the North end was concrete and able to be mopped up, we couldn't keep the water from going under the floor at the south end," she said.
As a result, 3,000 square feet of the 19,000 square feet of the wood surface has warped, Levin said. The cost is estimated at $85,000.
"American Charter Bank offered to help, and loaned us the money to make the repairs, but we need to pay them back," she said.
The sanding will begin on Aug. 1, and the rink will be closed through Aug. 8.
The Tennessee-based company making the repairs must bring in large riding sanders to take off all the floor coating and then re-stripe and re-coat the floor.
ServPro will be running huge dehumidifiers to remove the remaining moisture out of the floor.
Levin said she's been overwhelmed by how many people she's heard from.
"People who want to give money who used to skate here who don't even live here anymore," she laughed. "I've never asked for help like this before. It's heartwarming when people remember Orbit who want to help. One lady gave me $5 but said she couldn't give more because she was ill. We struggle every year to stay open. We've wondered if it's still worthwhile but to hear from all of these people, hundreds of people just really want us to push back harder and stay open."
A "Save the Floor" fundraiser will be held at Orbit on Thursday from 6p-9p. Orbit also has set up a GoFundMe page to raise money to pay back the loan.