Just in time for summer, a roller skating rink is returning to Monterey.

For three days a month starting this June, roller skating is coming back to the 831.

Monterey Skates, which will operate at the Monterey County Fair & Event Center, fills a void that local skating enthusiasts have felt deeply in recent years.

First came the 2011 closure of Del Monte Gardens, a rink on Del Monte Avenue that had been a fixture of the local scene for decades.

Then came Marina’s Water City, which closed in 2020 in the wake of Covid and never re-opened before the city red-tagged its building in 2021.

With the region now without a single roller rink, Max Troyer and Morgan Goyette, two members of the nonprofit Monterey Bay Roller Derby league, both started thinking about ways to bring a rink back. But they were doing it independently of each other.

“One day I got a wild hair and started driving around looking at empty buildings,” says Goyette, who got involved in roller derby in 2016. After bouncing the idea off of one of her friends from the league, the friend suggested Goyette get in touch with Troyer – one of the league’s founding members – who had a similar vision. “We’ve been working side by side ever since,” Goyette says.

Before Water City shut down, Troyer had been working behind the scenes to take over the rink. When that dream died, he pivoted. After scouting potential locations, he decided there was none better than the King City Building at the Monterey County Fair & Event Center, where the league started practicing after Water City closed.

“The floor is polished concrete, it’s really smooth,” Troyer says. “It’s really quite a pleasure to skate on, and it’s sticky enough so you don’t slide too much.”

Troyer, who moved to the area over 20 years ago, grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where there were three roller skating rinks when he grew up. “I want to create a space where kids can be active,” he says.

Monterey Skates is doing a soft launch on May 10 from 4-9pm ($10), only for those who have their own skates – Troyer has ordered 350 rental pairs that are still being manufactured in China. They are expected to be delivered by the June 20 opening date, regardless of tariffs: “I can eat the cost because this is a one-time thing for me.”

“I think it’s going to be really popular,” says Fairgrounds CEO Kelly Violini-Rodoni. “I remember skating at [Del Monte Gardens] when I was 5. People loved that, and it’s been a long time and they want to see it back.”