August 28, 2024
Urban Air, the world's largest indoor adventure park, is opening in Sioux Falls.
Attractions vary by location, but Urban Air Parks typically have more than 20 interactive activities for all ages, including trampolines, laser tag, bumper cars, and climbing walls.
The indoor theme park is set to open in the former Hobby Lobby shopping center on 41st Street between Grange and West Streets.
“This is the largest indoor entertainment venue ever built in Sioux Falls,” said Ryan Tisdall, vice president of commercial real estate for Van Buskirk Corp. “It's a brand new offering that's never been seen in Sioux Falls before.”
He had put the 52,000-square-foot space up for sale since before 2020.
Though leasing stalled during the pandemic, “things have changed dramatically over the past 24 months,” he said. “We've had a lot of businesses looking at the space. We had a variety of offers, from furniture to entertainment to home improvements to groceries, but ultimately the entertainment concept was the perfect fit. We're excited to bring a new concept to Sioux Falls.”
Urban Air will bring a level of indoor entertainment never before seen in the city, he added.
“The landlord chose Urban Air because of the strength of the concept,” Tisdall says, “and we felt this was the strongest one.”
Urban Air is primarily designed for ages 7 and up, but there are areas for younger children too.
Attractions include the Adventure Hub, which features a ropes course, a tube playground and the Urban Air Sky Rider, a zip line-like experience.
“Leap of Faith” involves players wearing harnesses climbing to the top of a platform and then taking a big leap down to grab hold of a hanging cylinder or dangling bar.
There is also dodgeball, battle beam and warrior course.
Urban Air announced earlier this year that it would be adding air adventure slides to some of its parks.
Each park also has a fast-casual cafe and several party rooms.
Urban Air was founded in 2011 and currently has more than 350 stores open or in development.
This year, Urban Air was ranked the No. 1 entertainment franchise for the sixth consecutive year on Entrepreneur magazine's annual Franchise 500 list.
Initial construction is underway to prepare the Sioux Falls location for construction, and while a timeline for an opening has not yet been announced, Tisdall estimated it could be early next year.
“I think Sioux Falls has historically had limited year-round recreation and amenities options, and this facility helps fill that void,” he said. “You can't build a new building for a concept like this; you have to utilize existing space to make it work economically. The central location is really attractive, with equally convenient access from anywhere in the city, and it also has great co-tenancy.”
The deal leaves 34,000 square feet of space in the 41st Street shopping center, formerly home to Fairway, which is essentially the last vacant big-box store space in the area aside from the former Sears, Tisdall said.
“We are currently in negotiations with several local and national retailers,” he said.
