The Crucial Importance of Curb Appeal

By Sara Karnish

Rink owners who invest heavily in refurbishing the interior but spend less on the exterior could miss a significant opportunity to boost their business’ curb appeal. Roofing, lighting, and signage are just a few elements that give the rinks’ exterior a fresh look and create a positive first impression with customers.

Tracey Giordano, who co-owns Skate Station in Clearfield, Pennsylvania, with her husband Shawn, recently completed extensive renovations of the entire rink, inside and out. She said the importance of an attractive exterior could not be overstated. “It’s the first thing people see. That tells all,” she said. “If it looks run down or dirty, nine times out of ten people won’t go in.” The Giordanos made a major capital investment, replacing the roof, installing a new sign, paving the parking lot, and painting the building’s exterior. Interior projects included replacing the kitchen equipment, increasing the skate inventory, gutting and installing a new floor, installing LED lighting, and more. They bought the rink seven years ago, but until they were forced to close during the pandemic, they hadn’t done any large-scale renovations. “[The previous owners] had let it go and weren’t putting any money into it…when I bought it, it was bad. When COVID hit, it was kind of a blessing for me to be shut down for 10 or 11 months. That was my time to remodel. Before the big remodel, we did little things,” Giordano said. Since reopening in January 2021, Giordano said the change has been remarkable. “I’ve got customers who travel to our rink. Our birthday parties have been sold out since we reopened. We always get good reviews and comments on our social media pages—we have a lot of followers.”

What to look for in roofing materials

It’s no surprise that any major building renovation is a huge investment. Aaron Christy of Indy Roof Company in Indianapolis, Indiana, says, “A new roof is insanely expensive, especially for a large building like a rink. It’s the most expensive part of building or maintaining a building, and to do it every 20 to 30 years… if someone’s looking at buying a property, that’s something to take into consideration.”

There are two types of roofs — low-slope (flat) and steep slope (shingles). As Christy explains, “No roof should be completely flat; the architecture of the building is going to dictate what kind of roof goes on there. With a low-slope roof, you’ll either have black rubber or white metal. They are both pretty similar in durability. Aesthetically, you can’t see either one from the ground. You do get better energy efficiency with a white metal roof.” Several good shingles are on the market for a steep slope-style building with a gabled roof. “Most are oxidized asphalt—rubber shingles. Because they’re rubber, you can put them on in the winter, they have more elasticity, and tend to bounce off rather than cracking or getting damaged. If you have a steep-style roof, rubber or polymer-modified shingles [are good options].”

Christy adds, “We use two brands of rubber shingles, both are fairly on market price. There are various colors available, and really good options these days. People have to do a little bit of research. If I put shingles on that aren’t as good, I’ll have to re-roof the person’s house. Doing right by the customer should be the number one priority—turn them on to an impact-resistant, polymer-modified shingle.”

Naturally, a roof will show some wear and tear over time. Green algae and black streaks are common signs of aging. Periodic checkups on any roof can help identify small issues before they become big problems. “The low slope rubber covering is on a roll, so there will be seams, and we weld the seams together using adhesives. After about 10 or 12 years, the adhesives start loosening. I would do regular inspections after about the fifth year,” Christy recommends adding, “low slope roofs are about two times more expensive than a steep slope roof. Water sits on them more, so they get more water damage. A saying we hear is ‘water always finds a way.’ If you’re looking at options between low slope and steep slope—the steep slope is more economical, requires less maintenance, and is more cost-efficient. If you can choose, the steep slope is going to be more cost-efficient.”

Regular roof checkups are even more critical if your rink is in an area prone to intense weather—particularly hail. “Not all areas are storm markets. If you’re in a storm market and your roof is over 10 years old, you probably have storm damage and may not even know it. If you’re in a market that gets a lot of hail, it wouldn’t hurt to have someone come out and look at your building,” Christy said. “As a roofing company owner, we do a lot of restoration work—roof, siding, gutters, paint. [If you do have storm damage] Some owners might think, ‘My roof is so old, my insurance company won’t pay for it’. Don’t think ‘I don’t have storm damage’ or ‘my roof is too old.’ That’s incorrect thinking. If they’re taking your premiums every month to cover storm damage, they’ll pay for it.”

Before photo of the exterior of RollXScape

Credit: RollXScape

How the exterior helps a rink stand out

Tim and Brenda Price, new owners of RollXscape Skating Center in Holland, Michigan, bought their rink in April 2021, spent six months in construction, and reopened in November 2021. “We started with the

Before interior photo of RollXScape

After interior photo of RollXScape

Before floor and lighting of RollXScape

After floor and lighting of RollXScape

outside,” Tim Price explained. “We completely whitewashed the exterior to get rid of the tan and brown exterior, and added lime green to the trim to match the interior. We basically gutted the inside and removed a whole bunch of walls to give it more of an open feel, and painted it with brighter colors—purple, orange, blue, and green—to make it look more inviting. The roof was fine, so we didn’t have to do anything there, but we did add four A/C units.” They also added new signage. “We painted the signpost and frame and went from a faded blue to black. We updated the sign with our new logo and name, added the changeable marquee underneath it. We also updated to LED lighting outside for illumination.” Price continues, “The previous owner just had a banner that covered the existing sign. There was no lighting or anything, so you could only see it during the day.”

Zoning restrictions limited their signage options. “We had to stick within the confines of what was already there. The township had a new ordinance; if we’d made any other changes to the sign it would be on the ground. Now it’s 10 feet in the air. We also had to stick with the changeable letter marquee,” Price explains. Brenda Price said, “We couldn’t do an LED sign…we had to stay within the confines of the current ordinance or we wouldn’t be grandfathered in.” They say the changes have boosted the whole look of the rink, and customers are giving the renovation positive reviews. “The upgrades brought people back to the rink. Our Number One reviews say how clean and inviting the rink is. The reputation before was that it was dark, dingy, and dirty. The outside gives customers their first impression. When people drive up, you want them to have an expectation of what they’ll see inside. If the outside looks nice, they expect the inside to look nice. It starts with the bright white across the building, and the lime green trim—it stands out from everything else around us,” Tim Price said.

Brenda Price adds, “We had a lot of comments when we cleaned the parking lot up. When it was freshly blackened, it changed up the look. People notice that—they really pay attention to that sort of thing.” She noted their parking lot gets a lot of trash blowing in from an empty lot beyond their property; they make a conscious effort to pick up the trash. “If you’re going to pick up the trash outside, you’re going to keep it clean inside,” she points out.

The latest in LED and traditional signage

Whether cutting edge or classic, signage is an important element of a rink’s exterior. Basic signage gives the rink a crisp, fresh look, but LED lighting adds a definite ‘wow’ factor to draw business. An extensive study by Arbitron showed digital media in public reaches 70 percent of Americans. Uploading media to digital signage boosts your rink’s visibility and adds to its overall curb appeal. Elwood Bakken of Action Lighting in Bozeman, Montana, says there are a lot of exciting things happening with signage. “People are starting to see controllable/ addressable lights. These are lights you can set to any color, time, or blink in a pattern of RGBW. They’re great for both the inside or outside of a rink. You can wash your whole building in one color—maybe all in green for St. Patrick’s Day—and you can change it the next day using an app.”

Bakken said some of the other products they offer include chasing border lights and open-face marquee letters (tabletop or larger letters with individual bulbs in them). Bakken points out, “The more attention you can bring to your business through lighting, the better. But check with your municipality first [before installing lighting]—there are a lot of areas with regulations against flashing lights; some do not have those types of regulations.”

When it comes to exterior lighting, there are more options available than ever before. “LED lighting is still very much a trend—I think you’ll continue to see a lot more of that. The pricing has come down so much,” Bakken said. “Another big trend is the new LED neon. This is a flexible product that can be cut with scissors— there’s no gas or glass to it. It’s very safe to use. You can put it around your doorway just to draw attention to it.”

Sometimes lighting is overlooked in the broad scheme of a rink remodel, but it adds important aesthetic and safety elements to its exterior. “Curb appeal is so important because it’s your business’ first impression—it speaks to the quality of the experience people will have when they walk through your doors,” Bakken said. “Parents with kids want to know, ‘Will everything be safe, be taken care of?’ Safety is very important, and they can see that right away from the outside.”

Remodeling costs

Giordano admits the scope of her rink’s renovation was a tremendous expense, but it was worth the cost to get the quality work they wanted. “The first thing I would tell a rink owner is if they’re remodeling something someone else had, don’t take shortcuts. Do it right the first time. Don’t try to save money or cut corners, because down the road, you’ll have to fix it.” Giordano received two grants from the SBA, three grants from Clearfield County and took out a small bank loan to fund the renovation. She commends her county government, saying, “Clearfield County really stood behind their businesses.” Giordano recommends rink owners look at funding programs through the SBA and, “If you’re lucky, you can go to your local bank and apply for a loan, or get a line of credit on your building.”

The possibilities for a rink renovation can be overwhelming. Planning and researching are crucial to keeping the entire project on track and close to budget. Although it might be tempting to go big and bold with a renovation, getting the latest and greatest in equipment and décor, it may be better to keep it simple. That’s the advice the Prices received: “Always make it simple and clean, then add on. If you go big, there’s nothing to build on. Go back to simple and clean.”