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open a sixth UK site in 2017, this time in Farnborough town centre in Hampshire. The newest 20,000sq. ft. 360 Play unit will be located
360 Play plans sixth opening F
ollowing the continued success of its five existing venues, DP Leisure (DPL), plans to
in Farnborough at the Meads Shopping Centre and will join sites in Milton Keynes, Stevenage, Leicester, Basildon and most recently Redditch The development is owned by St. Modwen and the complex is home to a Sainsbury’s food store, The Gym, coffee shop chain Starbucks and other retailers. The wider town centre regeneration includes a new Vue cinema, casual dining restaurants and a Premier Inn. The opening is scheduled for late 2017 and once again the design and master planning of the project will be carried out by DP Associates (DPA), the sister company to DP Leisure, which will project manage the build. The design and content will follow the company’s
formula of a wide range of activities for all young children, from toddlers up to the age of 12, and also designed so that adults can join in too, it will be a true family day out offering. Among the key attractions will be a three-storey play
structure, family bumper cars and a carousel. The rides are being supplied by specialist Italian manufacturer IE Park/SOLI Bumper cars which has supplied the same attractions to all the previously opened centres.
Sport 1 themed dodgem cars and a carousel themed as the ‘Circus Roundabout’ – and will integrate perfectly with the concept and the family entertainment centre business model that has already proved so successful at 360 Play’s five other sites. As always, we wish Duncan Phillips and the entire 360 Play team all the best with this latest venture and thank them for once again choosing IE Park as the supplier for these key attractions.” Also new will be an area where ‘the outside comes
inside’ as there is no option at the site for a dedicated outdoor area, as found at some of the other 360 Play sites across the UK. “We are delighted to announce plans for our sixth
Additionally, the 360 Street creative play zone, a key
feature at all 360 Play sites, will once again be made up of individual play units such as a fire station, supermarket, pizza parlour, vets, car garage/body shop and dressing up shop. It will also incorporate some new elements yet to be announced, along with a party zone offering a dedicated area for children’s parties. IE Park/SOLI Bumper Cars managing director, Andrea
Munari commented: “We congratulate 360 Play for once again choosing IE Park’s products for their sixth project in Farnborough. Both products for this latest project are custom designed – a special mix of junior and mid-size
Bay Tek buoys marketing team B
ay Tek has been boosted with the recruitment of Ryan Cravens and Sammy Harrison to its Games marketing team.
Cravens joins as the business development manager, a new position within the organisation where he will be focusing on product innovation and growth. With over 25 years of experience in the amusement industry, Cravens started when he was 13 years old working at his family’s arcade in Kirkland Washington. Most recently he was a sales and marketing manager for Andamiro, an amusement game manufacturer based in Seoul, South Korea. He also spent five years at Betson Enterprises, Bay Tek’s largest distributor, where he worked on the launch of the Big Buck Hunter Pro brand. Cravens will be working remotely from his Chicago home office, where he lives with his wife and two children. Harrison has taken up the role of marketing manager where she will focus on
brand communication and strategy for Bay Tek Games, as well as sub-brands like Skee- Ball. Previously an Account Manager in the advertising industry, Harrison worked on a variety of B2B accounts and spent five years working on brand and product development for a manufacturer in Madison, Wisconsin. She is based out of the Bay Tek Games headquarters in Pulaski. “It’s all about growth,” said Holly Hampton, director of marketing and innovation at
Bay Tek Games. “As Bay Tek grows it’s important that we have the resources on staff to help with our current products and channels as well as future innovations, so we can continue the forward momentum.”
360 Play site which continues the roll out of the brand around the UK,” said founder and managing director,Duncan Phillips. “The town centre location is, like our recently opened Redditch site, a move away from our more familiar type of site on leisure parks but we are confident it will be another successful venture. Key location drivers in choosing the site have been the great communications links the area has with the M3 corridor from the M25 out to Basingstoke, which bode well for our normal visitor catchment area of up to a 45 minute drive away. We are confident our offering will complement what is currently available to those coming to the town centre and will become a key element for visiting families with young children.
Bandai steps-up VR drive B
andai Namco is opening a dedicated virtual reality facility in Japan, called VR Zone Shinjuku, set to be the biggest of its kind in the country. Opening on 14th July, VR Zone Shinjuku will house over 15 activities including:
Dragon Ball VR, Master the Kamehameha; Evangelion VR, The Throne of Souls; Ghost in the Shell, Arise: Stealth Hounds and Mario Kart Arcade GP VR. Alongside the firm’s new IP content will be a range of new non-IP VR activities. Visitors will be able to explore fantasy worlds on a winged bicycle, experience a horror-filled dinosaur survival run and more. Additionally, guests will also be able to enjoy a variety of non-VR experiences, such as surviving an expanding giant balloon in a locked cell, loads of original souvenirs to buy, and food and drink in a virtually simulated resort themed dining space. Yoshiyasu Horiuchi, executive officer of the Amusement Business Unit for Bandai Namco Entertainment, said: “VR Zone Shinjuku will be the flagship location for the next-generation of entertainment. A place where Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc. carries out new challenges, delivers excitement and amazement to visitors from across the globe.”
The company also plans to install a selection of its VR content in over 20 locations worldwide.
June/July 2017
www.globalamusementsandplay.com 5
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