GR8 SK8 1031 280 Byp, 11th Pl, Phenix City, AL. Source: LoopNet.
GR8 SK8 1031 280 Byp, 11th Pl, Phenix City, AL. Twitter picture. Close up. You will noticed it was final generation with black stone walls compared to the previous look (see below). Source: Twitter/ GR8 SK8.
GR8 SK8 1031 280 Byp, 11th Pl, Phenix City, AL. This was the exterior with the sign. Basic graffiti style sign without the more touch up that normally graffiti would be spray painted. Source: GR8 SK8.
GR8 SK8 1031 280 Byp, 11th Pl, Phenix City, AL. They were cleaning out and trashing stuff as I wrote this (06 August 2022). Source: Aaron.
GR8 SK8 1031 280 Byp, 11th Pl, Phenix City, AL. They were cleaning out and trashing stuff as I wrote this (06 August 2022). And it is up for sale/lease. Anyone want to buy this and bring back as a rink? Contact them now.. How? Look at the sign and call them. Source: Aaron.
GR8 SK8 1031 280 Byp, 11th Pl, Phenix City, AL. Interior look. Colors reflex the same as for exterior. Source: GR8 SK8.
GR8 SK8 1031 280 Byp, 11th Pl, Phenix City, AL. The front door. Taken from a skater who took it from inside of the car. Source: Google.
GR8 SK8 1031 280 Byp, 11th Pl, Phenix City, AL. On YouTube. Awesome stunts! Source: YouTube/Bany Boys.
GR8 SK8 1031 280 Byp, 11th Pl, Phenix City, AL. On YouTube. Awesome stunts! Source: YouTube/Bany Boys.
Skatearama 1031 280 Byp, 11th Pl, Phenix City, AL
GR8 SK8 1031 280 Byp, 11th Pl, Phenix City, AL
GR8 SK8 1031 280 Byp, 11th Pl, Phenix City, AL
Skatearama and later, GR8 SK8 were located at 1031 280 Byp, 11th Pl, Phenix City, Alabama right next to this plaza but pretty hidden corner of that plaza property. Reminded me of another rink or two which are sitting in a hidden corner such as one in Tennessee and another in Alabama. What is with the way it is designed far away from the plaza and entirely different appearance than the rest of the plaza IF they are joined with but if not, why share the parking lot with the plaza?
The first rink, Skatearama or Skate A Rama was housed there then GR8 SK8. The name sound so street name. It is supposed to say Great Skate.
Only I know that GR8 SK8 began was in 2010. I do not have closure dates, Nor date of opening. Just the year 2010 for final rink generation.
Looked like they closed in 2013 thanks to twitter tweets that were posted that year. Nothing after Halloween 2013. However, they may have opened an account on Twitter a bit too late to save the business. Most photos were that fall season. That is it. nothing older. They opened it on August 16, 2013 clearly what it said that they are officially on Twitter.
I cannot confirm that there was a death at this facility because a website said there was as I saw on Google search but when I got there, nothing mentioned about death at the rink. I am aware skaters google search for more information if I did not add, you will find it and there isn't any information more than it says on Google search.
Parents said in a website called Insider Page that Skatearama was much better and safer for children with good security system but after it was sold, the owners of GR8 SK8 really had a let down. Two female officers stand outside talking like nothing to do and many rude and rough children there.. and one of the parents told the officers about a boy and a girl in the bathroom were having a carnal moment and the officers did not listen until 20 other children had to tell the officers to do something. Must be most parents realized this and made right decision not to go there.
The graffiti logo and the street slang name clearly gave gangsters the wrong idea that this rink is made for them. But not only that, perhaps the owner is very rough as well. Who knows. This is PURELY MY OPINION, I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT I SAY BUT MERELY OBSERVATION OF WHAT WAS HAPPENING.
As of July 27, 2020, it is still up for sale. Apparently no one wants it in long time. It is selling for 400K range.
UPDATE! -- 05 August 2022.
There is an email someone was telling me update to this rink --
[T]he past few months it looks like they have gutted the inside. I think they are going to knock it down very soon sadly.
Aww, it is going to be torn down. Something else going there. That is sad.
The Interior.
Because of the theme is Red and black, this is what the interior had as it was exterior. Red metal picnic tables, Red foot-boards and Red lights around the rink on the ceiling. What interesting was that they had the natural stone half-wall but painted in Black. Oh no. I love natural stone colors. Having Gray is good enough and not Black. However, it does make you feel heavy with the blackness all over the place. Besides that Black and Red is a bad mix. Often people will think the Red and Black mix means evilism. But that is one interpretation. And that is my interpretation. I would not want to be associate with that. Opposite of black is white that white means purity, clean, heavenly. Black is opposite. It means sin, mess, darkness. Another time, another place I will preach that on a different website for that.
With the rocks, if it was natural, it would have given it more rustic feel and more lightly and friendliness. I could not describe more because all those pictures on Twitter where I found them are focused on Halloween in 2013, the last entries the management put on there which clearly showed they closed in 2013. I can tell with too few people there in those photos.
The floor is White Polyurethane coated Concrete although it is fading according to You Tube video at the rink. You would find patches not matching to its appearance. It does give that wet spot look. It is very old floor I can tell. Looked to be around 40 years old.
The Exterior.
I do not know what it was like for Skate-A-Rama but GR8 SK8 clearly had the theme colors as it is interior: Red on top, White and Mostly Black with some White spots on bottom part of the building. The architectural look identified similar to many Southern rinks (Starlite, Starburst, etc.) The door set up almost to the center but bit to the right.
One photo showed it was taken in 2012 that the bottom part of the wall where the rocks are were in natural color before it was painted black.
It is a Gabled Roof, Free-Span Steel Truss Stone veneer, Steel- Walled Warehouse -like Building.
The Stats:
Rink Size: N/A. Floor: White Polyurethane Coated Concrete. Floor Layout: Standard.
Building Size: 19,377 SF Built: 1978. Demolished: (update- 05 August 2022) To be demolished.
Type of Building: Free-Span Steel Truss Stone veneer, Steel- Walled Warehouse -like Building.
Roof: Gabled.
Acres: 2.4800 Acres.
Organ: None.
10 Pins Bowling Lanes: None.
Duck Pins Bowling Lanes: None.
Candlestick Bowling Lanes: None.
Pocket Billiard Tables: N/A.
Amusement Rides: None.
Driving Range Slots: None.
Miniature Golf Course: None.
Arcade: (Number unknown)
Skee-Ball: N/A.
Fascination: None.
Restaurant: None.
Cocktail lounge: None.
Laser Tag: None.
Bounce Houses: None.
Bumper Cars: None.
Go-Kart: None.
Motel: None.
Swimming Pool: None.
Operated: 1978? to November 22, 2013.
Skate-A-Rama: 1978? to 2010.
GR8 SK8: 2010 to November 22, 2013.
Reason for Closure:
Skate-A-Rama: N/A.
GR8 SK8: N/A.
Wanted: Information regarding exact dates of open/closed, why closed, size of rink, rink materials. Also, photos/articles. Anyone knows or have photos, please let me know by emailing at Dead-Rinks. Thank you. You can also use this form.
Sources:
Twitter - GR8 SK8
Dun & Bradstreet - GR8 SK8
Insider Pages - Skate-A-Rama
Yelp - GR8 SK8
Manta - GR8 SK8
Loop Net - Property records. (Updated)
Four Square - GR8 SK8
Date of issue: 2020.
Update: 05 August 2022.
For office use only: 7/2. (Updated - 06 August 2022).
Worth to visit:
None. To be demolished?
DISCLAIMER:
Dead-Rinks and Mark Falso are not responsible for your physical and legal injuries you may have caused. We do not endorse such illegal activities including breaking and entry of former rinks, malls, abandoned buildings, etc. Please always obey laws and regulations and property owner's signs. Some states allow purple paint on fence which means they even have guns on their property and have rights to shoot you. Please DO NOT attempt to enter property without permission!
For abandoned rinks, after you receive permission, do WEAR safety OSHA equipment including a safety glasses, pair of safety gloves, an orange vest or a jacket, and a construction helmet.
Thank you for understanding.
Second of all: The contents including words and photos above on this page and/or on any pages are purely educational entertainment purposes only. I provide what information from other websites, skaters, and operators and it may end up with different results between two (or more) sources. It is not our responsible for errors we caused. All sources are shown on each page. All opinions and statements of mine are also stated and are for purely educational entertainment only.
Rinks that are closed are considered dead. Rinks that are/were sold and with new management names new name(s), the former are considered dead. Previous operating rink that closed but came back years later, are considered dead because the reopening is considered rebooted, nothing to do with the former.
As for “For Office Only” is for my reasoning and private legal reason for that.
Any music associated with any YouTube or any other videos provided on Dead-Rinks are not the property of Dead-Rinks therefore we do not own the rights to the music.
All photos you submitted or we retrieved becomes property of Dead-Rinks and are watermarked but they are credited to you (or where the source is from). Thank you for understanding. To understand more about this, please go to this page: Dead-Rinks List.
© Copyrighted by Dead-Rinks, an International Commercial Archeology Preservation© Group. All Rights Reserved. Jn 3:3 to 16. Deut. 32:7.
The first rink, Skatearama or Skate A Rama was housed there then GR8 SK8. The name sound so street name. It is supposed to say Great Skate.
Only I know that GR8 SK8 began was in 2010. I do not have closure dates, Nor date of opening. Just the year 2010 for final rink generation.
Looked like they closed in 2013 thanks to twitter tweets that were posted that year. Nothing after Halloween 2013. However, they may have opened an account on Twitter a bit too late to save the business. Most photos were that fall season. That is it. nothing older. They opened it on August 16, 2013 clearly what it said that they are officially on Twitter.
I cannot confirm that there was a death at this facility because a website said there was as I saw on Google search but when I got there, nothing mentioned about death at the rink. I am aware skaters google search for more information if I did not add, you will find it and there isn't any information more than it says on Google search.
Parents said in a website called Insider Page that Skatearama was much better and safer for children with good security system but after it was sold, the owners of GR8 SK8 really had a let down. Two female officers stand outside talking like nothing to do and many rude and rough children there.. and one of the parents told the officers about a boy and a girl in the bathroom were having a carnal moment and the officers did not listen until 20 other children had to tell the officers to do something. Must be most parents realized this and made right decision not to go there.
The graffiti logo and the street slang name clearly gave gangsters the wrong idea that this rink is made for them. But not only that, perhaps the owner is very rough as well. Who knows. This is PURELY MY OPINION, I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT I SAY BUT MERELY OBSERVATION OF WHAT WAS HAPPENING.
As of July 27, 2020, it is still up for sale. Apparently no one wants it in long time. It is selling for 400K range.
UPDATE! -- 05 August 2022.
There is an email someone was telling me update to this rink --
[T]he past few months it looks like they have gutted the inside. I think they are going to knock it down very soon sadly.
Aww, it is going to be torn down. Something else going there. That is sad.
The Interior.
Because of the theme is Red and black, this is what the interior had as it was exterior. Red metal picnic tables, Red foot-boards and Red lights around the rink on the ceiling. What interesting was that they had the natural stone half-wall but painted in Black. Oh no. I love natural stone colors. Having Gray is good enough and not Black. However, it does make you feel heavy with the blackness all over the place. Besides that Black and Red is a bad mix. Often people will think the Red and Black mix means evilism. But that is one interpretation. And that is my interpretation. I would not want to be associate with that. Opposite of black is white that white means purity, clean, heavenly. Black is opposite. It means sin, mess, darkness. Another time, another place I will preach that on a different website for that.
With the rocks, if it was natural, it would have given it more rustic feel and more lightly and friendliness. I could not describe more because all those pictures on Twitter where I found them are focused on Halloween in 2013, the last entries the management put on there which clearly showed they closed in 2013. I can tell with too few people there in those photos.
The floor is White Polyurethane coated Concrete although it is fading according to You Tube video at the rink. You would find patches not matching to its appearance. It does give that wet spot look. It is very old floor I can tell. Looked to be around 40 years old.
The Exterior.
I do not know what it was like for Skate-A-Rama but GR8 SK8 clearly had the theme colors as it is interior: Red on top, White and Mostly Black with some White spots on bottom part of the building. The architectural look identified similar to many Southern rinks (Starlite, Starburst, etc.) The door set up almost to the center but bit to the right.
One photo showed it was taken in 2012 that the bottom part of the wall where the rocks are were in natural color before it was painted black.
It is a Gabled Roof, Free-Span Steel Truss Stone veneer, Steel- Walled Warehouse -like Building.
The Stats:
Rink Size: N/A. Floor: White Polyurethane Coated Concrete. Floor Layout: Standard.
Building Size: 19,377 SF Built: 1978. Demolished: (update- 05 August 2022) To be demolished.
Type of Building: Free-Span Steel Truss Stone veneer, Steel- Walled Warehouse -like Building.
Roof: Gabled.
Acres: 2.4800 Acres.
Organ: None.
10 Pins Bowling Lanes: None.
Duck Pins Bowling Lanes: None.
Candlestick Bowling Lanes: None.
Pocket Billiard Tables: N/A.
Amusement Rides: None.
Driving Range Slots: None.
Miniature Golf Course: None.
Arcade: (Number unknown)
Skee-Ball: N/A.
Fascination: None.
Restaurant: None.
Cocktail lounge: None.
Laser Tag: None.
Bounce Houses: None.
Bumper Cars: None.
Go-Kart: None.
Motel: None.
Swimming Pool: None.
Operated: 1978? to November 22, 2013.
Skate-A-Rama: 1978? to 2010.
GR8 SK8: 2010 to November 22, 2013.
Reason for Closure:
Skate-A-Rama: N/A.
GR8 SK8: N/A.
Wanted: Information regarding exact dates of open/closed, why closed, size of rink, rink materials. Also, photos/articles. Anyone knows or have photos, please let me know by emailing at Dead-Rinks. Thank you. You can also use this form.
Sources:
Twitter - GR8 SK8
Dun & Bradstreet - GR8 SK8
Insider Pages - Skate-A-Rama
Yelp - GR8 SK8
Manta - GR8 SK8
Loop Net - Property records. (Updated)
Four Square - GR8 SK8
Date of issue: 2020.
Update: 05 August 2022.
For office use only: 7/2. (Updated - 06 August 2022).
Worth to visit:
None. To be demolished?
DISCLAIMER:
Dead-Rinks and Mark Falso are not responsible for your physical and legal injuries you may have caused. We do not endorse such illegal activities including breaking and entry of former rinks, malls, abandoned buildings, etc. Please always obey laws and regulations and property owner's signs. Some states allow purple paint on fence which means they even have guns on their property and have rights to shoot you. Please DO NOT attempt to enter property without permission!
For abandoned rinks, after you receive permission, do WEAR safety OSHA equipment including a safety glasses, pair of safety gloves, an orange vest or a jacket, and a construction helmet.
Thank you for understanding.
Second of all: The contents including words and photos above on this page and/or on any pages are purely educational entertainment purposes only. I provide what information from other websites, skaters, and operators and it may end up with different results between two (or more) sources. It is not our responsible for errors we caused. All sources are shown on each page. All opinions and statements of mine are also stated and are for purely educational entertainment only.
Rinks that are closed are considered dead. Rinks that are/were sold and with new management names new name(s), the former are considered dead. Previous operating rink that closed but came back years later, are considered dead because the reopening is considered rebooted, nothing to do with the former.
As for “For Office Only” is for my reasoning and private legal reason for that.
Any music associated with any YouTube or any other videos provided on Dead-Rinks are not the property of Dead-Rinks therefore we do not own the rights to the music.
All photos you submitted or we retrieved becomes property of Dead-Rinks and are watermarked but they are credited to you (or where the source is from). Thank you for understanding. To understand more about this, please go to this page: Dead-Rinks List.
© Copyrighted by Dead-Rinks, an International Commercial Archeology Preservation© Group. All Rights Reserved. Jn 3:3 to 16. Deut. 32:7.