Could a new home be found for Wigan Roller Rink as fans mourn its current home's closure?
“We are currently exploring a number of potential options and we are determined that there will be a bright future for Wigan Roller Rink.”
Hopes have been raised that Wigan Roller Rink might have a future after all.
On bank holiday Monday, the historic venue on the Cotton Works site hosted its final - and sold out - sessions with more than 600 people taking part.
It was a very emotional occasion, not least because it was previously hoped that a new home could be found on the former Eckersley’s Mills campus as buildings around it were either refurbished or demolished.
Heaton Group, which is developing the site, said earlier this year that its original Cotton Works plans from 2023 did include the construction of a new rink, but due to “significant increases in build costs,” this was no longer financially viable for them to deliver or for an operator to lease on a long-term basis.
A spokesman added: “We carefully explored whether the existing rink could remain open during the next phase of the Cotton Works development.
"Unfortunately, this would require customers, including children and families, to access it through a live building site. We cannot create a safe entrance in those circumstances, and health and safety must come first.”
The popular attraction’s future looked doomed.
But all the parties involved have not given up hope and this week Wigan MP and culture secretary Lisa Nandy told Wigan Today: “We’ve been working hard to secure the long term future of Wigan’s much loved roller rink.
“I’m working with the owners, the council and the Heaton Group to secure an alternative site and to ensure the roller rink can continue to operate in some form in the meantime.
“We are currently exploring a number of potential options and we are determined that there will be a bright future for Wigan Roller Rink.”
It is also being reported that while efforts continue to find a new and permanent base, “pop-up rinks” could help to keep the brand in the meantime.
Roller rink bosses have asked the public to go down to the venue to help dismantle the famous floor - Europe’s largest.
The materials will be de-nailed and stacked in the hope they can be reassembled somewhere else in the future.