McAllen skating rink moving north

McALLEN - The scuffed hardwood floors at the Fantasyland roller-skating rink show the marks of generations of Rio Grande Valley youth.

Soon, that floor will have a new home in North McAllen on Dove Avenue, along with a new owner and more space.

Fantasyland is slated to hold its final skate on May 31 at its current location on Jackson Road, south of Pecan Boulevard in McAllen.

Owner Beverly Morelius is selling the business that she built to another McAllen resident, Melissa West, who plans to move the location to the old Broadway Hardware store on Dove near North 10th Street.

"I'm so happy I was able to sell to someone in the Valley who is going to keep it a family-oriented place," said the 58-year-old business owner.

Even with a new and bigger location, it's amazing how close the rink came to shutting down altogether. Morelius has been running the rink since a skating boom in the late 1980s. There were four rinks in the city, she said, but as the trend died, hers was the only one that stood.

Late in 2007, she found out she would lose the lease on her property and was facing the reality of shutting down the rink and retiring from the entertainment business, she said.

The new location on Dove opened up after Broadway, a local retail chain, closed in January in the face of increasing pressure from big-box home improvement chains. Fantasyland's new owner, West, thinks the rink will be a good fit in that growing area of McAllen.

"It's a much bigger site and we'll be able to do more things like private birthday parties and food," said West, who is a therapist coordinator for local school districts. "The site is great and there's a lot of traffic."

She is taking the floor from the old building, but everything else will be new, she said.

The new site will be about 30 percent larger, West said. She said she will keep the rink's 15-person staff at the new location.

With West, it's hard for Morelius not to see herself in 1988 when she opened the rink. Morelius opened the rink to earn a living and give her two children, then 8 and 11, a positive place to hang out.

West also has two kids, 5 and 8, whom she plans to "raise" at Fantasyland.

"My kids are so excited," West said. "They can't wait for mom to own a skating rink."

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Kyle Arnold covers business, the economy and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4410.