KIMBERLY, Wis. — Skating is making a comeback and becoming popular again around the country.
The trend started after Usher performed in skates during the Super Bowl halftime show.
One local rink recently got an upgrade.
Troy Thiel is the owner of Skate City in Kimberly. He bought the rink from his father seven years ago.
The original wood floor was installed in 1981. Troy Thiel said that’s why he decided it was time to sand it down and re-coat the surface.
“There’s a lot of nicks and cuts and gouges in the floor that have happened, just kids falling,” said Troy Thiel. “There is lots and lots of those marks on the floor. It’s kind of nice to get those out of there and back to how it used to look.”
Troy Thiel said he has not only updated the floor, but he also replaced skates, carpet and repainted the building.
“There’s so many things that we do here, that you do it once a month or once a year,” said Troy Thiel. “Just kind of just maintenance and just even, like, music, you know, putting out the new music on the computer.”
Paul Thiel was the original owner. Paul Thiel said it was a no-brainer when his son asked to buy the business.
“Pretty proud of the job that we’ve done keeping it this nice,” said Paul Thiel. “Troy does a great job. He’s a good son. He takes after me.”
Troy Thiel said he keeps the younger generation interested by coming up with unique promotions and games.
“We have a game called ‘Andy’s Coming,’ which is based on ‘Toy Story’ movies,” said Troy Thiel. “Whenever we stop the music and yell, ‘He’s coming,’ they to pretend to be a lifeless toy and the best lifeless toy impersonations will get a prize.”
Troy Thiel said he is thankful to have this business in near pristine condition 40 years later. He said his dream is to one day hand down the business to his children.