Forum Digbeth — Local services in Birmingham

I’m giving it two stars purely because of previous experiences being so good. Been coming here for months. It’s been a delight but the last two times I’ve come it’s just turning me off the place. Yes the toilets have always been hit and miss. Yes the ring could do with a sort out but that could be overlooked with the vibe it used to have. However now it’s all a shambles. A Friday night used to have good vibes. Brilliant music. Yes you would have the people who could actually skate and do spins and all sorts but they were always considerate and if they bumped into you then they either helped you up and apologised or said sorry. There used to be a man manning the ring who can I say was AMAZING he would help the beginners clinging to the side and give them confidence, he would immediately notice anyone who was struggling and move people on who was huddled on the barriers. The music used to be spot on and all genres playing which would get people off the seats and skating. You would have the regulars there who yes did zoom around but was considerate and also helped you up if you fell. There was also another man who would walk past and egg you on to skate if you was sitting down and if you asked them for advice they was more than happy to help. Last night was a SHAMBLES. Two people manning the ring who can I say couldn’t care about the poor beginners. The amount of Injuries I saw last night was awful. And that was from lack of support from staff. Staff took ages to actually attend to any of the people sat on the floor. At one point there was a dad with his daughter who was young sobbing on the chair clinging to her knee. The people manning the ring was to busy jamming to there own vibe laughing in the corner to even notice the poor girl. And this happened more than once. At one point there was no music for a good few minutes which just made it awkward. The security helped more than the actual people manning the ring after one bloke fell and honestly I swear he’s tore a ligament. The music was atrocious and honestly was more for the people manning the ring to jam to. One dude changing the music appeared drunk and was literally seen drinking whilst laughing with the rink staff but I’m unsure if he works there. I saw NONE of the old skaters who used to jam there from the younger generation. For a Friday night I counted 10 people actually skating and the rest sat down at one point because there was awful music. people starting to put their own earphones in or leaving because of how BAD the vibe was. There was No support for the poor people clung to the side which I’ve never saw before. The ring.changed direction like it usually does but only for the people manning the ring to change the song and jam to. Which was such a shame as I’ve never experienced this going here before. The few old comers who come here was LAUGHiNg at the music shaking their heads. When it was under 18s the music vibed a bit better but once they went oh dear it went downhill. It was the DEADEST night I’ve saw roller jam have especially on a Friday. It’s such a shame as many of our friendship group came here even beginners as there was support and a vibe. Yesterday the vibe was dead I don’t even think I will retry again to be honest. Majority of the time the people manning the ring was singing with eachother recording there self which I’m all for staff having a great time like fully jam and have a laugh but don’t turn the venue into your personal spot with awful music and not help beginners At the end of the day your there to work not just record your self and not help a soul. I have never saw so many ice packs come out in one night purely from staff not keeping eyes out. Where your good staff have gone I don’t know. Or whether they just don’t work Fridays anymore. But the fact the jam skaters wasn’t there kinda says it all. I fully wasted my Friday night...

This venue is dangerous! I attended this evening for the dnb all-stars Halloween event. The event was massively over sold, thousands of people crammed into a not very large space. There are only 1 set of mens & women's toilets, the queues were around 45 minutes to get into the loos. We queued outside in the rain for about an hour to get in, once inside straight away we could see everyone was packed in like sardines, there was no where to move, the entire building was shoulder to shoulder and there were still people queuing to get in! The amount of people was ridiculous, I go to raves all the time, this was by far the worst one I've ever experienced. There was also no cloakroom to store everyone's very wet coats after queuing in the rain, luckily I drove and was able to pop back to my car to pop my groups coats in.

The bar by the toilets on the way in charged me £6.50 for a lemonade and £8 for a beer yet the bar in the stage room charged £3 for a lemonade & £4.50 for a beer, that's not a slight difference it's double the price!

The bar in the stage room had about an inch of water in front of it so everyone was absolutely soaking from standing in puddles. The ceiling in the toilets was leaking, not a little bit, it was dripping down very quickly.

One of the smoking areas was closed around midnight so thousands of people were crammed out the front of the venue to smoke, it was impossible to even get outside and completely blocked the exit.

I saw SO many people get kicked out by security, more than I've ever seen at an event before, it was like they were going and picking people one after the other!

We left around 1.30am because we were so concerned with the over crowding, it was almost impossible to move anywhere throughout the whole building. There were pyrotechnics on the stage and all I could think was if something were to happen people wouldn't be able to leave and would get crushed in the rush. We didn't feel safe at all and speaking to many others at the event, they didn't feel safe either.

Definitely won't be returning, such a shame as the old venue was completely different to this experience. I've been excited for this event for months, really disappointed and concerned for people's safety in this venue. It cannot be legal how...

This is a difficult one. I went to support a DJ friend that was playing & I believe the height of my fun whilst skating was because of the flow of tunes - so in that regard it popped off. I also appreciated that the DJ understood certain etiquette and announced a speed skate (helps those itching to go as fast as possible to get a chance without the risk of slide tackling the less confident). I would highly suggest you take on board how important music is, especially when the core skate community will be the ones that are the most consistent.

The staff are really sweet but I feel there needs to be more technical knowledge across the board.

Below are pointers to help the business. I really really think they will help overall.

Flooring needs work. Even as a confident skater, the joinery on the ground is sub par, but even as basic as levelling it off!? I go to rinks because I know it’s flat with no death rocks or ridges. Here is not the case.

Again with the floor, it’s kind of small for the venue size :(

Marketing is a wee bit off with regards to pricing. It is actually the advertised ticket price PLUS booking fee online. It is also more expensive on the door. I.e. Sunday £8 + bf , more OTD. Please make sure all staff know this as the person I spoke to via Instagram was unable to provide this information - even after stating someone had paid a higher price on the door.

Drinks are steep but I also understand that based on the area. I think you would benefit from deals e.g. 2 4 1 etc. X food + drink

Another big fat basic - fungicide & disinfectant spray for the skates - I wanted to spray my own skates which I usually do at rinks and they didn’t have any. We have all been bowling before…

I also don’t smoke, but a place to butt out cigarettes would be good.

Mirrors in the toilets.

As the first purpose built space, I really want it to thrive. I want to be able to invite my skate friends from all over and feel proud & I feel we can achieve that with a few tweaks. Don’t feel disheartened - good feedback...