Broadway Skateland — Local services in Mesquite

As I always say in every review, four stars are the equivalent of 5 stars to me, and that leaves room for future improvement possibilities.

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Impressions of Broadway Skateland I've only ever been here one other time, years ago, after the demise of our sainted and beloved White Rock Skate in 2014. (May she rest in peace, though she still stands vacant over on Shoreview Dr., a vestige of her former excellence.)

Broadway was under different management then. It was a very slow night and I never returned, not having been particularly impressed with the entire experience.

Now... Broadway... great tunes! Good and lively crowd! It's Cinco de Mayo, but I've been told that's not a factor in tonight's crowd size. A little bit warm inside when I first entered, around 8:00 p.m., but not terrible. It's warm and humid outside today. It's cooler inside. What more can you ask for?

A bearded and Santa Claus-like gentleman who calls himself Mr. Broadway was greeting people outside with a very friendly demeanor and a smile. He spoke to me about the rink when I sat down to start writing this review. It's a great idea, having someone who speaks to the patrons and gets to know them.

My old buddy Jason Elliot, who used to run the not-to-be-named T.......... rink in Plano sent me here. He texted me out of the blue a few weeks ago that his son was running this place, so I decided to give it a try. One thing Jason knew how to do was run a tight ship at a skating rink, so I assumed his son would be pretty good at it, too. He is married to the daughter of the current owner, who is the son of the man who built this rink back in the 60's, so they have kept it in the family, which is really cool.

So, here I am!!!

BONUS: None of those damn PVC trainers cluttering up the floor and flying everywhere. We didn't need them when we were kids!!! I'm so glad to see they haven't given in to that unfortunate fad here.

A section of the floor was blocked off with caution tape for repairs. There are a few bumps on the wood floor on the snack bar side, but nothing major. Anyway, Mr. Broadway tells me the new floor is about to be put down, so that's great news! The current floor seems to be the original one from... several decades ago now?? It was no impediment to my skating speed!

A number of renovations are underway and I look forward to things getting better and better as time goes by.

The floor just inside the main entrance beside the rink is not carpeted. This had gotten very wet in a couple of different places and I literally hydroplaned across it when I exited the floor one time. I wish they would reconsider carpeting this because it is very dangerous as it is now.

I inspected the Gentlemen's restroom. Gone are the hideous scents of yesteryear that I had seen reported in old reviews from the era of the previous management. But guess what. The floor was wet in there too, and it connects directly to the uncarpeted front section I just mentioned. Coming out was again a very slippery experience. I don't tend to fall, but I've been doing this for 50 years now! Others WILL fall!!

Mr. Broadway was kind enough to grab a mop and a forced-air dryer when I reported these wet spots.

The music was lively and varied all night long. Great disco classics of the 70's were intermixed with more modern fare, which is a pleasant surprise. There is significant distortion in the sound system in the low end (the BASS, baby!!), but I imagine that is going to be remedied in time as well.

All the games, races and speed skates happened which you might expect. The dice (really die) game, Red Light Green Light, etc.

The price of entry is $8. They have a snack bar of course, which I didn't really evaluate, though I took photos.

All this being said, I think I've found a new roller skating home. It will be fun to see what happens here. I had a great time and look forward to many more. A friendly and responsive management makes all the difference...

Very cute hole in the wall type of skating rink. A true vintage and classic staple. Very affordable, safe and great for a kids outside outlet. The staff who work there are very sweet and involving. I must admit the barring around the rink could use a bit of repainting, arcade area could be more active and larger and maybe a pool table ( dont play pool but just a suggestion). But overall Dad's is cool w/ me.( rated it 4 stars at date: 5/2023) Coming back to this review, because opinions of the public matter . New management of this facility has changed for the worst, and it's sad. Dads turn Broadway was a classic, vintage staple , skating rink of Dallas but don't get cocky or prideful . Little money earn can quickly turn into no money earn due to rude service. The elder man(Mr. BROADWAY AKA Richard )of the management is extremely rude. I been coming to this skating rink for 3 years since I've moved to Texas and never had a terrible encounter with any other the workers. I came when the place was cost of skating was cheaper and recently increase in cost, and still continue to come. Im a creator of habit but not a creature that will tolerate disrepect, especially at the cost of my own pockets. I came when the workers were here without uniform yet happy skating along with the skaters. Yes, the place was less In professional appearance, BuT! the atmosphere was positive and more friendly. Now there is too many rules (not pertaining to the safety rules) but redundant rules.

YOU CANT SKATE WHILE PEOPLE IN THE MIDDLE DOING the outdated and garbage dance of the hokey pokey. (Shut up, I paid to skate not to limited cause you want to become relevant and compete with your more successful competitors .)

I have notice the elder worker getting an attitude with people, that ask questions or is not knowledgeable of their rules. And if a customer of 8 + years suggest a better solution of an issue or question it the elder worker would tell them "if they don't like it they could skate somewhere else". 🙄some customer service, get training. The skating rink don't even have a properly working air conditioner, you really think you should talk to paying customers like that?, especially from customers that been faithfully going.

Don't get cocky cause yall got trash decorations and like streamers, half painted skate rinks rails, cheap laminated skate floors, and finally dust the ceiling fans.

Don't be rude to...

Full disclosure: I haven't been to Broadway Skateland since I was in middle school around the 1989 to 1991 time frame. But I drove past it today while going down Gus Thomasson. I started thinking back to all the good times I had. I see it hasn't changed from the outside. That's refreshing given all the cookie cutter developments that seem to have sprouted everywhere around that area. We're living in a time where everything is so sterile. Nothing has character anymore. All buildings look exactly the same. Broadway Skateland is a remnant of the past-a glimpse into a simpler and I believe much happier time when things made sense. It was definitely a hangout for me every Saturday night with my small group of friends. Many kids from my middle school went there. I would skate tirelessly for the full four hours-7 to 11. In hindsight it really was great exercise. The DJ would announce couple skate where the boys would be on one side and the girls on the other. We would get butterflies in our stomach when girls would skate across and choose the lucky guy or maybe not so lucky guy depending on if we were attracted to them. It was an exciting time in our lives when we were experiencing physical changes and feelings we didn't understand. Mentally we were still kids yet our bodies were beginning to mature. The novelty of it though tumultuous for sure brings back some happy memories. I was thinking about that today as I passed. I thought how it would make for a great episode of the Twilight Zone if I entered and suddenly was transported back in time 31 years ago. I could be that shy but excited 13 year old boy looking for his friends from school. Eager to see if the crush I had was there. Eager to see if she was looking at me. Nervous to walk up and talk to her while my friends laughed at me as I did so.

Broadway Skateland is definitely an iconic place. I hope it stays and keeps it's original character. It is a reminder of a happier...