E. S. P. Retail Showcase

Focus - Sports & Recreation

Sports+Plus

scores high as an entertainment experience

 

Family Golf’s newest concept, Sports Plus, is revolutionizing the family entertainment scene and creating total entertainment for the 21st century. Soon to open at New Roc City in New Rochelle, New York, the Sports Plus@New Roc City 150,000-square-foot flagship unit will co-anchor with Regal Cinemas, IMAX and Bally Fitness.  Leading the way to creating a 24-hour urban leisure destination, Sports Plus is a place to have fun year-round, almost any time, every day. Sports Plus@New Roc City operates 18 hours a day  and  while the rest of the city sleeps, you can play virtual golf, mount a climbing wall or hit the ice on twin sheets.  

 

Sports Plus’ newest location spans three levels, with thrills for the entire family.  The street-level entrance brings you to “Central Park” Ice Skating Entertainment Center.  The creative setting of “Central Park”  gives a realistic experience, with the rink following the contours of a lake. Floating in the middle of the rink are two islands finished with 14-foot-tall trees, lush landscaping, park benches and lampposts. In the background, top-40 music is played by a live DJ.  Murals line the walls, giving a visual representation of the New York City skyline. Each day starts with dawn rising on the city, and as the day progresses, the background fades to the city at midnight. More elements to keep the crowds amused include a $150,000 sound and light show.  A 20-foot screen drops from the ceiling to show videos, so as you’re holding hands and skating with your date, a live DJ plays music from, say, the Titanic, as the sound track accompanies the video.  The lake-setting ice rink is open for public skate time and lessons, and Sports Plus will also host ice show productions in conjunction with International Management Group.  This Ice Skating Entertainment Center will  be converted during the summer months to host a variety of events, acting as a mini-convention center.

 

The NHL regulation rink, called SkateNation Arena, is already close to a sell-out with hockey play, skating lessons and ice shows.  The state-of-the-art rink features 500 permanent seats and can be augmented to an excess of 2,000 seats for shows.  A 15-foot- tall statue of Caesar stands guard at the entrance complete with “The Cup” held overhead.  Also part of the first floor attractions are the SkateNation Lodge Pro Shop, a 25-foot-tall “Top of The Roc” climbing wall, and function rooms for birthday parties and other group functions.

 

Now that the family is sufficiently wowed, Sports Plus@New Roc City  takes them to a new level of excitement on the second floor.  Looking off from the glass elevator or spiral staircase, you enter an upscale sports bar and restaurant accompanied by facilities for billiards, shuffle board and virtual golf.  While dining, you can look out over the “Central Park Entertainment Center” or SkateNation Arena and watch the ice skaters.  The second level is designed to make the most fastidious adult feel comfortable; a corporate planning person would book a gathering here, and mom would feel at home while watching a little one’s skating lesson.  After you’ve skated awhile and you’re well fed, it’s party time on the third level.

 

Fun, fun, fun on the third level is found for the entire family.  More than 250 games and simulators buzz, pop and glow.  After you have fun at the games, you can pick your choice of prizes at the ski-chalet-themed redemption center.  A kiddie play area offers age-appropriate adventures on a carousel or helicopter ride.  Teenagers and adults flock to the Max Flight or Battle Tech simulators.  The whole family can enjoy full-size bumper cars and strategize a victory at laser tag.  More accommodations for parties are found on the third level, for both birthdays and corporate events.  Sports Plus@New Roc City made certain that customer convenience was assured by offering counter food and beverages on all three levels. 

 

The developer of New Roc City, Cappelli Enterprises, Inc., added another entertainment focal point with its $4.5-million Space Shot that takes you on an exhilarating ride to the top of the glass rooftop tower and shoots you down through 235 feet of thin air with the force of a space launch at 4Gs.  The pinnacle of the ride can be see by car, train, boat and plane for quite a distance, offering a light show similar to that at the Empire State Building. Space Shot will be operated by Sports Plus@New Roc City.   

 

Family Golf Centers, Inc. will be opening another Sports Plus next year in Woodbridge, New Jersey near the long-established Woodbridge Mall.  The New Jersey site will house 120,000 sq.ft. of twin-rink ice skating, laser tag, rides, games and group function rooms.  

 

Other Sports Plus operations can be found in Denver, Colorado; Raleigh, North Carolina; Lake Grove, New York and Cincinnati, Ohio.  The Denver, Colorado site was originally a golf center, and Sports Plus added a 135,000-sq.ft. Indoor Family Sports Super Center housing two rinks, a golf and ice pro shop, video and redemption games, rides, laser tag, birthday party rooms, conference rooms, and the Avalanche Grill restaurant.  The outdoor area in Denver offers a double-tiered, heated driving range, a nine-hole executive golf course and 18 holes of miniature golf.  In December 1997, the company acquired an indoor family sports and entertainment center in Evendale, Ohio and in February 1998, an ice rink/family entertainment center was acquired in Raleigh, North Carolina.

 

There’s more to the company.  Family Golf Centers, Inc. is an entertainment conglomerate. The publicly traded company (NASDAQ: FGCI) grew from one golf facility in 1992 and acquiring its first ice rink during 1997 in Syosset, New York to a present-day portfolio of 116 golf and 28 ice and family entertainment centers in 25 states and three Canadian provinces.  Growth has taken place through acquisitions and from-the-ground-up construction.   The Melville, New York-based company has been quite successful at raising lines of credit through sources such as Orix and NationsBank. In December 1998, Family Golf obtained a $100-million line of credit facility through a syndicate led by Chase Manhattan Bank and simultaneously acquired SkateNation for $28.9 million.  SkateNation, prior to Family Golf’s involvement, was a wholly owned subsidiary of TrizecHahn and at the time of the acquisition, SkateNation leased, operated or managed 16 commercial ice rinks in the United States.  

 

Family Golf Centers, Inc. is looking at sites nationwide to accommodate their Sports Plus Super Centers of 120,000 sq.ft. to 150,000 sq.ft.  Multilevel locations, retrofits and new construction situations are of interest.  The company has also been known to purchase and ground-lease land. 

 

For more information, contact:

Bill Reitzig, Family Golf Centers, Inc., 538 Broadhollow Road, 4th Floor, Melville, NY 11747; 516-694-1666, Ext. 109; Fax: 694-5774

 

For on-site visitation of

Sports Plus @ New Roc City, contact:

Phil DeAngelo, Family Golf Centers Inc., PO Box 1658, New Rochelle, NY 10801; 914-637-7575, Fax 637-1048;

Email: pdeangelo@familygolf.com

Home pages: www.familygolf.com and www.skatenation.com.