Cameron Knight

cknight@enquirer.com

For nearly a decade, the Cincinnati Rollergirls brought life to the Cincinnati Gardens. Now that the longstanding arena is slated for destruction, the roller derby team has found a temporary home at nearby Xavier University.

The team announced Friday that home matches during the 2017 season will be held at the 3,000-seat Schmidt Memorial Fieldhouse located on Xavier's West Campus.

The fieldhouse was home to Musketeer basketball for more than 50 years.

Emilie Westcott, the Cincinnati Rollergirls operations director, said in a press release Friday the team is thrilled they can continue to bring roller derby to Cincinnati at a historic venue.

"There's a lot of history in these walls, and we're looking forward to helping to write the next chapter," said Westcott, who skates under the name Jillian Dollaz.

Glenn Arnold, Xavier's assistant director of recreational sports, said the school is welcoming the team.

"Xavier Recreational Sports is excited to host roller derby in the fieldhouse for the first time and introduce a new sport to the surrounding community and campus," he said.

The Cincinnati Rollergirls will hold four games at the fieldhouse this year:

March 18: Home opener

April 8: Superhero night

May 6: Star Wars night

June 10: Fan appreciation night

Season tickets are $40 for adults, $15 for children ages 7-12, younger children get in free. College student and staff can buy tickets $7 at the door with valid ID. Single tickets for adults are $12 in advance, $15 at the door. Tickets can be purchased at cincinnatirollergirls.com.​​