ROCKEFELLER CENTER and FLIPPER'S ROLLER BOOGIE PALACE Bring Roller Skating to Iconic Rink

Tishman Speyer and Flipper's Roller Boogie Palace announced that a new roller skating rink will open at The Rink at Rockefeller Center on April 15, 2022. This latest element of Rockefeller Center's campus-wide redevelopment is a revival of the Los Angeles-based roller rink and legendary cultural hotspot of the late '70s and early '80s run by Ian "Flipper" Ross. It is being revived this year by his daughter Liberty Ross, in partnership with an impressive roster of collaborators. Flipper's will operate at Rockefeller Center through October.

The introduction of the new roller skating rink coincides with a reopening of The Rink Level following extensive work to restore it to the vision of the original architects. The Rink Level will now serve as a grand entrance from the Plaza and Channel Gardens, allowing circulation through the entire Center on both street and Rink Level. Glass doors encircle The Rink, restoring the ability to easily walk in and out and view the skaters in the Plaza, while flooding the indoor Rink Level with light and air. The sunken plaza will transform into a gathering space with tables, chairs, and green spaces that allow the public to flow into Rockefeller Center's shops and restaurants. Flipper's Roller Boogie Palace will be smaller than the traditional ice rink, allowing room for the public to watch the skaters and sunken plaza activity from a few feet away, in addition to the view from above via the Esplanades and Plaza on the upper level.

The completion of this architectural transformation is timed to welcome Flipper's Roller Boogie Palace in April as a warm weather counterpart to the traditional ice rink that has operated since 1936. This is the first time since a short season in 1940 that the Rockefeller Center rink will feature roller skating in the warmer months.

"Roller skating at Rockefeller Center will be a quintessentially New York moment," said Rob Speyer, CEO of Tishman Speyer. "We are thrilled to welcome Flipper's as a partner in transforming the Rink Level at the Center, and can't wait to see everyone out there."

"Our goal is to build world-class spaces where everyone is welcome; spaces where connection and self-expression roll free, without judgment or prejudice," explains Liberty Ross, Co-Founder, Flipper's Roller Boogie Palace. "It's my hope to support the amazing roller skating community and the future of the sport, while welcoming the curious to the freedom and fun that is roller skating. Flipper's is-and always has been-a place for individuality, experimentation, joy and respect."

Originally opened by Ross' father, the legendary Ian 'Flipper' Ross in West Hollywood, Los Angeles, the family-owned roller rink was, for just three years, a mecca of uninhibited fun, where a generation of eccentrics and outsiders gathered to experience roller skating. Fast-forward to 2022: Flipper's Roller Boogie Palace returns with the mission of uniting people through the joy of roller skating. The new venture comes from Liberty Ross, Co-Founder and Creative Director, and Kevin Wall, Co-Founder and Chairman, in partnership with Usher, and encompasses the world of roller skating, with roller rinks, lessons, community events, performances, merchandise, and apparel, alongside social content that spotlights the talented, diverse rolling skating community, stateside and beyond.

Since 2020, Rockefeller Center has been revealing various elements of its transformation:

-New independent retail concepts: This fall, Alo Yoga will join jewelry designer Eva Fehren, record store Rough Trade, striped classic fashions KULE, menswear favorite Todd Snyder, a new two-story retail experience from LEGO, and the RC Capsule program, which offers limited leases to artisanal brands that deserve to be seen and shopped at by New Yorkers.

-Critically acclaimed dining: Pebble Bar, the first new bar at the Center, added a nightlife component to the dining scene that also features Ignacio Mattos' recently opened, critically lauded Lodi. The new Rink Level will also be home to new marquee restaurants from the city's most dynamic independent chefs and restaurateurs opening this spring with Le Rock (Frenchette) and this summer: Korean NARO (Atomix), open concept Five Acres (Olmsted), and North Italian pasta creations from Jupiter (King).

-New Rink Level grab-and-go options from JJ Johnson's Harlem-based Fieldtrip, Eli and Max Sussman's Samesa, David Chang's fried chicken joint Fuku, Matt Etchemendy's Brooklyn-born Ace's Pizza, and the "better-for-you, do good convenience store" The Goods Mart.

-Renovated lobbies where hospitality, bespoke furniture, music, art, and greenery welcome all those who work here at 50 Rockefeller Plaza and 1 Rockefeller Plaza-which also features Rockefeller Center's first permanent commissioned public art installation in forty years, Amplitude by DRIFT, a dramatic centerpiece suspended 16-feet from the ceiling.

-Radio Park, a new rooftop green space on top of Radio City Music Hall that realizes the vision of the Center's original architects.

-Year-round programming featuring public art installations from artists like KAWS, Maurice Harris, Max Colby, and Claes Oldenburg (to be unveiled March 18 at Channel Gardens); family programming with quarterly concerts from The Rock and Roll Playhouse; PRIDE celebrations campus-wide in June; crowd-sourced advocacy and art programs like The Flag Project; and surprise live musical performances from The Rink to the Top of the Rock, featuring performers like Alicia Keys, Father John Misty, and Laurie Anderson.

The Rink Level is now once again a truly open area, easier to navigate and home to new places to gather, walk, shop, dine, and enjoy the beauty of this living landmark. Through a newly installed glass perimeter, light, music, laughter, and the energy of New York City enters from all sides via a direct open-air connection to The Rink. INC Architecture and Design have seamlessly drawn from the iconic textures, shapes, materials, and motifs of the Center, and even preserved extraordinary historical features, including skylights discovered during the renovation, original columns, and other decades-old building blocks.

TICKET INFORMATION:

Flipper's Roller Boogie Palace at The Rink at Rockefeller Center tickets start at $20 USD for adults and $12 for children under 15, not including skate rentals, and are available beginning Tuesday, March 15 at flippers.world.

HOURS OF OPERATION

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday - 10am to 10pm

Thursday, Friday - 10am to 12am

Saturday - 8am to 12am

Sunday - 8am to 10pm

For news and updates, follow Rockefeller Center on Twitter @rockcenternyc, Instagram @rockefellercenter and @topoftherocknyc, and Facebook @rockefellercenternyc.

For news and updates, follow Flipper's Roller Boogie Palace at flippers.world and on Instagram @flippers.world.

ABOUT TISHMAN SPEYER:

Tishman Speyer is a leading owner, developer, operator and investment manager of first-class real estate in 30 key markets across the United States, Europe, Asia and Latin America. We develop, build and manage premier office, residential and retail spaces for industry-leading tenants, as well as state-of-the-art life science centers through our Breakthrough Properties venture. With global vision, on-the-ground expertise and a personalized approach, we are unparalleled in our ability to foster innovation, quickly adapt to global and local trends and proactively anticipate our customers' evolving needs. By focusing on health and wellness, enlightened place making and customer-focused initiatives such as our tenant amenities platform, ZO., and our flexible space and co-working brand, Studio, we tend not just to our physical buildings, but to the people who inhabit them on a daily basis. Since our inception in 1978, Tishman Speyer has acquired, developed, and operated 484 properties, totaling 219 million square feet, with a combined value of over $121 billion (U.S.). Our current portfolio includes such iconic assets as Rockefeller Center in New York City, The Springs in Shanghai, TaunusTurm in Frankfurt and the Mission Rock neighborhood currently being realized in San Francisco.

ABOUT Liberty Ross:

Born in London to parents Ian 'Flipper' Ross and Bunty Ross, Liberty Ross moved with her family to L.A. at just three weeks old when her parents opened Flipper's Roller Boogie Palace. Back in London by the 1990s, she was discovered as a 19-year-old on Portobello Road by Mario Testino, and went on to a highly successful career in the fashion industry, starring in campaigns for Christian Dior, Burberry, and Jil Sander, and appearing on the covers of The Face, Vogue and i-D. She currently resides and works in L.A. with her husband Jimmy Iovine and children.

ABOUT FLIPPER'S ROLLER BOOGIE PALACE:

Flipper's Roller Boogie Palace is a platform for roller skaters and fun-seekers. Founded in 1979 by Ian 'Flipper' Ross, Flipper's began as a family owned and operated roller rink in Los Angeles. The legendary roller rink returns in 2022, first with a roller skating experience at the Rink at Rockefeller Center in New York City and, to follow, a flagship location in London. Celebrating roller skating, positive mental health and emotional well-being, Flipper's is a place to let go, be present and connect with yourself and those around you. flippers.world @flippers.world

Photo Credit: Rink Renderings - ImageFiction for Flipper's and Tishman Speyer