An expanding family entertainment chain that offers bowling, multilevel laser tag, billiards, restaurants and more in one location plans to build a site in Tulsa.
Dallas-based Main Event Entertainment plans to locate its center at 7830 S. Santa Fe Ave.
A commercial building permit filed with the City of Tulsa lists the estimated cost of the project at $6.2 million and the declared value of the proposed building at $11 million.
A commercial building permit filed with the City of Tulsa lists the estimated cost of the project at $6.2 million and the declared value of the proposed building at $11 million.
According to the permit, the proposed construction will be 150,000 square feet. In a previous company release, however, Main Event has noted that its locations range in size from 45,000 to 75,000 square feet.
The company did not respond by press time to Tulsa World messages left on Tuesday.
In November 2013, the company, which touts itself as “the fastest-growing family entertainment chain in America,” opened its first location outside of Texas in Tempe, Arizona, as part of its national expansion.
The company previously has mentioned that it has other locations under development, including one in Tulsa and Oklahoma City.
Most recently in June, Main Event opened a new center in the Atlanta-area suburb of Alpharetta, Georgia — marking the first of seven new locations the company plans to open across the United States over the next year, according to a company release.
When the company announced aggressive national expansion plans in January, CEO Charlie Keegan in a release said, “Our ‘Eat.Bowl.Play.’ brand of family entertainment has experienced tremendous success in recent years, enough so that we’re expanding beyond Texas into new markets. We’re excited to grow our successful family entertainment centers throughout the U.S.”
The chain aims to bring its number of U.S. locations to 19 by fiscal year 2015.
Main Event offers bowling, billiards, laser tag, video arcades, a ropes obstacle course and several dining options, including a contemporary Grill & Bar restaurant, a fast casual pizza concept and a high-energy lounge atmosphere, according to the company.
The company also offers meetings rooms for corporate outings, a bar set up for happy hours and table areas for birthday parties, according to the company’s website.
Food choices range from margarita pizza and baby back ribs to southwest egg rolls and more, according to the company.
Joe Frisby, an Okarche, Oklahoma, resident who is vice president for Houston-based SAMCO Enterprises Inc. said he has been to the Main Event in Grapevine, Texas, numerous times.
“...Tulsans will like it. We have had a family reunion party there before, and last year I hosted a party for my largest account in Fort Worth,” said Frisby in emailed comments.
He noted that the Grapevine site has a laser tag that rivals anything his son has ever seen before.
“They have a really fun bowling alley, not set up for your serious bowler, but lots of neon/LED lights, music and fun ... They have a very large gaming area that has wide aisles and good, current games. All the games are similar to the Chuck E. Cheese’s model with the ticket exchange for prizes,” said Frisby.
He noted, too, that “the food is surprisingly inexpensive, $5 burgers and $8 chicken baskets, and, of course, pizza.
“To top it off, they have a full-service sports bar that, on certain nights, has dancing and the whole singles bit. All of this is in a huge open-concept footprint that makes it fairly easy to track your party. I know they have some sort of identification process for the young ones. ... We watched a football game there last fall and it didn’t break the bank on beer,” he added.
Main Event is a subsidiary of Ardent Leisure Group of Australia.
