Collister Center looks to swap out bowling lanes for roller skating rink

After a false start in Meridian a year ago, Scott and Tammy Stevens expect to open a roller skating rink by Nov. 1 in the Collister Center on State Street in Boise.

Treasure Valley Skate would replace the recently closed 20^th Century Bowling Lanes, which has occupied the 20,732-square-foot space since it was built in 1960.

Bowling alley General Manager Lucas Hohnstein said building owners told him Treasure Valley Skate offered higher lease payments. Scott Stevens said he was told 20^th Century Bowling was leaving no matter what.

“Neither of us were told the whole story,” Stevens said.

But however it happened, the bowling alley is leaving. The 20^th Century lease expires Aug. 31.

“I absolutely wish and wanted the bowling alley to stay,” said Stephen Jaeger, founder and managing partner of Argonaut Investments of Corte Madera, Calif., which acquired Collister Center in 2015. “There was some question about the long-term viability of the bowling alley. Along came Treasure Valley Skate with a long-term plan and the ability to update an aging facility.”

Treasure Valley Skate has an agreement in principle with Argonaut but a lease has not been signed, Jaeger added.

The Stevens and their two children were a roller skating family for years in Seattle. Then they moved to Boise to be closer to his father after his mother died. His parents had retired to Eagle.

“When we moved here, the first week of settling in we went roller skating at the Nampa Rollerdrome,” Scott Stevens said. “We were 21 miles away from the Rollerdrome. It hit us clearly that this place was in need of another roller rink.”

The Nampa Rollerdrome, open since 1948, is the only other roller skating rink in the Treasure Valley.

A year ago the Stevens announced they would open Meridian Skate on Kalispell Road, but Stevens said that deal fell through. They needed a large, clearstanding building without support poles or columns. They also considered the vacant Kmart on Fairview Avenue before hearing about the 20^th Century Bowling Lanes space.

The Stevens will install a 140-by-80-foot maple skating floor that will be available for roller hockey and roller derby practice sessions. Stevens said they also want to be associated with schools, PTAs and churches.

Treasure Valley Skate will have three large party rooms, a pro shop, a novelty shop, arcades, concessions and a full-time live DJ  along with new lighting and sound systems.

No architect or general contractor has been selected.

Scott Stevens has worked in the recreational vehicle business for 30 years and is vice president at Treasure Valley Skate. Tammy Stevens has had a variety of jobs, including school bus driver, and is CEO and operations manager at Treasure Valley Skate.

Along with the Nampa Rollerdrome, the other roller skating rinks in Idaho are in Pocatello, Lewiston, Coeur d’Alene, Twin Falls and Idaho Falls.