3CDC says skating isn't just for Fountain Square in the winter anymore. Cincinnati is getting a mobile roller skating rink.
3CDC says the nearly 10,000-square foot rink can be assembled in a bunch of places around the city's urban core. The development group has signed a three-year deal with Frisch's to sponsor it.
The mobile roller rink comes with 150 pairs of skates for people to rent at five bucks a pop. Admission is $2 and you can bring your own skates.
The first pop-up location is scheduled for the new Court Street Plaza Memorial Day weekend.
Fun facts about roller skating
According to Mental Floss, Belgian John Joseph Merlin invented metal-wheeled roller skates (though the concept was already around), debuting them at a party in London in 1760. However, it wasn't until the 1860s that they became more agile.
James Plimpton's "four-wheeled skate made use of springy carriages called trucks that allowed the skater to turn by leaning in the direction of travel," the magazine reports.
Roller sports began gaining popularity during the latter part of the 19th century, according to Britannica.
"The first recorded game of roller hockey took place in London in 1878. Speed roller-skating events began in the 1890s and were popular through the first quarter of the 20th century," the encyclopedia explains. "Dancing and figure skating on roller skates were introduced in 1910 and 1923, respectively."
And who can forget roller derby? The sport got its start in the 1930s in Chicago. Cincinnati's own roller derby team, the Cincinnati Rollergirls, was founded in 2005.
