Though Mimi Masher knew she had her work cut out for in 2019, trying to bring back a rare banked roller derby track to Long Beach, 2020 proved to be the most trying for the local skate advocate and junior roller derby coach.

“Even if we had a building, we couldn’t use it,” Masher said. “Roller derby is a close-contact sport. The city was not issuing any sort of permits for it—it was one of the very last tiers of things to be released.”

Now, halfway through 2021, the pressure and bills are mounting for Masher, who wants to keep the track in the city, but can’t afford the $600 monthly storage payments much longer as the price hikes up each year.

“It started out at $345—that’s how long it’s been in storage. It just keeps going up and up and up,” she said.

Through the pandemic Masher fruitlessly sought out a big enough warehouse with enough square footage (some 28,000 at least), fire exits and parking for a roller sports venue. The spaces she found that could accommodate were in expensive, cannabis-zoned buildings. Well out of her price range, she said.

Meanwhile, Masher said she and her husband resorted to living frugally, even selling their personal belongings such as her husband’s motorcycle to cover the storage costs.

“We white-knuckled it, basically,” she said. “I have to sell it or give it away. I cannot keep doing it.”

Giving it away would be the last resort, Masher said. Her focus right now is generating some kind of revenue to cover storage costs while she renews her search and continues talks with the city’s economic development department.

Her “last-ditch” effort on that front was organizing a virtual 5k/10k fundraising race. Profits from sign-ups would be donated toward storage costs.

The race technically ends June 30, but Masher said she still has a few medals for people who might still like to participate. Those who would like to donate directly can also do so on her website, socalskatespace.com

Though finding a suitable space within her budget is the most daunting task, Masher admits that convincing people of the potential for the space is tough, too.

Long Beach is saturated with shopping and dining options but lacks activity-based entertainment Masher explained. The track could be used for more than just roller derby, but for free skate events, workout classes, skate lessons and after-school programs for children. It could also be a great tourist attraction, Masher said, much like the Derby United outdoor roller rink in San Diego.

“I’m just trying to get the city to recognize the value in it and help us find a place that we can go to,” she said.

Masher said she’d also be open to moving the track to anyone willing to house it—it could fit in a two-car garage when disassembled—but understands that moving the 44-piece track is a massive undertaking.

“It takes like 15 to 30 people to move it, and three moving trucks [to transport],” she said. “Each track piece takes four to six people to lift it.”

That said, once the track is fully assembled, it’s pretty magnificent. The track, laid out in all its glory, lives on in the 2020 Harley Quinn movie “Birds of Prey,” where a recently emancipated Harley Quinn (Margo Robbie) blows off some steam a la roller derby style takedowns.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86V-UM_5OTc

 

Despite Masher’s looming anxiety about the future for the track, she’s choosing to stay optimistic while she fervently searches for options. Whether that’s raising the money herself to find a warehouse, or relinquishing ownership to the city which might have more luck finding a space—she doesn’t care, just as long as it’s in Long Beach.

“I just don’t want to have to sell it to somebody in a different state. It was built by skaters here. I’m just trying to bring the community together,” she said.

To donate visit Mimi Masher’s website, go to socalskatespace.com or visit her GoFundMe, here. Follow Masher on Instagram to stay in the loop or to contact her directly.

For more information on the track and Masher’s efforts in 2019 check out this previous story:

Can Mimi Masher bring banked track roller derby back to Long Beach?