Wall, the owner of Bent Elements, and business partner Steven Darrach , are preparing for the opening of the province’s first indoor trampoline facility, Off the Wallz, a place, they hope, will attract families from tip to tip — and beyond.
“I have a 13-year-old in Grade 8 who is every excited. I also have two stepchildren, 13 and 10, and they have been hanging around. They are quite excited, too,” he added. “The kids should never complain that they’re bored.”
The former Canada Games Sports Centre in Slemon Park is a beehive of activity these days, as workers piece together large pieces of indoor play equipment and three huge trampolines in anticipation of a late December opening of the facility.
“We unloaded five containers with close to 2,600 pieces in a couple of days,” Wall said, referring to the park’s components.
Walls and storage cubbies are getting a fresh coat of paint, sparks from a welder fly, and the sound of hammering echoes throughout the 14,000-square-foot space.
Getting Off the Wallz off the ground has taken almost three years, with finding the right space being the biggest challenge.
“We just don’t’ have empty 25,000-square-foot buildings,” he said, adding the location is a perfect fit with their plans. “Families travel off Island to take their kids to places like this to do fun things and they have the added cost of fuel and the bridge, meals, hotel, and all these other expenses. Here, they won’t have that.”
The facility includes three Olympic-sized trampolines, dodge ball court, slam dunk basketball, ninja course, slack line pit, foam pit, and a soft play area — a 3,000-square-foot three-level playground with slides and cannons.
There’s a parents’ lounge, from where they can watch their children at play, a concession area and rooms that can be rented out for birthday parties.
Wall said, from his experience running Bent Elements, which has grown to include bubble soccer, inflatables, escape rooms and laser tag, Off the Wallz should be a hit with families, particularly in the winter months.
Admission will be $15 a person for 70 to 75 minutes, $12 for the soft-play area and an additional $3 for the appropriate socks to be worn while using the facility. The opening is expected to happen between Dec. 23 and 28 and plans for theme nights.
“I am very excited. I haven’t really had a whole lot of time to think outside of what’s going on in front of us right now,” said Wall. “We are just trying to get it open.”
He anticipates hiring between 20 and 30 full and part-time employees for the business, which, he added, will be open seven days a week.
“There are not a lot of options for families, indoors, besides swimming and bowling,” he added. “I have heard people talk over the last couple of years, while I was doing this, that something like this is needed.”
