![]() “I’ve had broken and separated ribs and broken fingers,” she says while rattling off a list of injuries. Stevens says the game gets pretty physical, which can lead to shorter careers. She’s been a roller girl for six years, which is a pretty long roller derby career, especially for a woman in her 40s. ![]() “I got ‘sir’ a lot when I moved to Texas,” she says. She took the name from an Adam Ant song about a cross dresser. Stevens goes by Greta X in the roller rink. “The hand is pretty decimated,” she said the following week, a few hours before seeing a hand surgeon to have metal pins placed in her hand. She played through the pain, completing the tournament and propelling her team to first place. In June, Stevens broke her hand during the second of four roller derby games at the Midwest Derby Fest. So what are you waiting for? “Make like a tree and get outta here” and over to Thunderbird Roller Rink.Holly Stevens at Thunderbird Roller Rink in Plano. Skate rentals are $2 for quads and $3 for inline. Regular skating hours are Tuesday “Cheap Skate” from 6-8pm at $4 Fridays from 6-10pm at $6 Saturdays from 11am-10pm at $6 and Sundays from 1-5pm at $6. Kleckner and Dakota Carino teach skating lessons every Saturday morning at 10 am for $10. From regulars to families and parties, and the excitement over the start of the upcoming derby action, they love working at Thunderbird.Įmployees K.C. Speaking to both, they love their jobs, not just because they get to skate, but because they enjoy helping the customers that frequent Thunderbird. Thunderbird employee Brandon Osborn jumps over co-worker Dakota CarinoĪ majority of employees are high school students like Dakota Carino, a 10 th grader at Clark High School and Erin Hegg, an 11 th grader at Plano Senior High School. There’ve been 2 proposals (most recently one of Thunderbird’s DJs on New Year’s Eve), lots of fun events for kids through schools or clubs, and even a country music video shot at Thunderbird. Ava Casas, who has only worked for the rink for a few years, actually goes way back with the Sims family and has seen it all over the years at Thunderbird. Thunderbird employs a wide variety of staff members. Kiddos celebrating a birthday get a quick turn in the money blowing machine One of Thunderbird’s employees won the last Social, taking home a nice trophy. They participate in Social Skate Competitions between DFW area rinks. They do birthdays, large group events and even fundraising. The roller derby action isn’t the only excitement to be had at Thunderbird. Assassination City skaters / photo by Peter Elliott Starting on February 21st, you can catch roller derby bouts every 3 rd Saturday of the month from 6pm-12am. The league actually contacted Terry first, hearing that he was giving Thunderbird a facelift yet maintaining its nostalgic feel. In addition to new lighting, lasers, paint, skates, a new kitchen and menu at the snack bar and a brand new black light party room, Thunderbird has also become the new home for Dallas’ Assassination City Roller Derby League. He’s started to revamp the look and feel of Thunderbird, and people are noticing. Terry has been managing since December 2013 and he definitely takes his job seriously. These days, Nell still owns Thunderbird, but she has handed over management to Terry Monjure, a transplant from New Orleans. She also opened a seasonal miniature golf park next door that lasted a few years in the 1970s. Nell was swayed to open another rink and Thunderbird II has been in that same spot ever since, on the street they named Thunderbird Lane. Neighborhoods were just starting to be built this far north of Dallas and streets like Spring Creek were still being planned. At that time, there was nothing in Plano for entertainment. Nell was actually approached by the Mayor of Plano and convinced to open a second Thunderbird Roller Rink in Plano in 1972. The couple opened it because their daughter Patti was a competitive skater and she needed a place to practice. ![]() Thunderbird has been invested in good old-fashioned family fun since 1962 when Nell Sims and her husband Wayne opened the first Thunderbird Roller Rink in Richardson. Time may have passed, fashion and music may have changed, but kids and families have pretty much stayed the same. Walking in, it’s like you’ve jumped into the DeLorean and stepped 30 years into the past. Thunderbird Roller Rink, located at 3200 Thunderbird Lane, is one of those places where you can disconnect from the technology of today and show your kids what real fun is.
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