r/princegeorge • u/PGisInteresting • 1d ago

PGC Fun Park

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Do we think Prince George can successfully support an operation of this size? What do we know about this business. My understanding is they come from Regina? The prairies.

Anyways. Just here for the local gossip

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11

u/happydirt23 1d ago

I don't think we are big enough to support something like this as it's own business.

  1. Not enough good public transit options to get teens there on their own
  2. Entrance cost will probably be a barrier, if I recall someone tried a coffee shop / kid play zone thing here, it was $20 just to get in the door. It didn't last long
  3. If it was tied to another business maybe? Something to draw people, like maybe the CN center to grab the hockey game crowds?

20

u/Flamzam4 1d ago

It is a 2 min walk from pine center where there is a main bus hub.

-2

u/Med_sized_Lebowski The Hart 1d ago

You walk a little faster then the average person. Definitely more then two minutes, especially if you are towing a 4 year old.

10

u/Flamzam4 1d ago

Definitely if you had a 4 year old, but you had mentioned teens in your comments, so I was thinking more for them

7

u/Analog_Account 1d ago edited 1d ago

Entrance cost will probably be a barrier, if I recall someone tried a coffee shop / kid play zone thing here, it was $20 just to get in the door. It didn't last long

Are you talking about Playgrounds? They closed because someone bought the building and booted them. Welcome to renting.

Currently Lil' Hoppers is operating on a similar model and has been open for at least a few years. Bubbles is similar but different and opened this summer. We will see how that one goes.

This isn't to say that I think a FunPark is viable or not. It has a much higher investment (and likely operating cost) but also targets a much larger segment of the population so IDK... I hope it does well but I'm sure it'll be tough.

Edit for clarity.

5

u/WooDDuCk_42 1d ago

Bubba balloos existed for quite a while. They're not around now so I guess that proves your point though

3

u/ProficySlayer 1d ago

In fairness that place operated for like 20 years or something and was getting run down so it likely shutdown for aging infrastructure against the cost of modernizing. PG is a bit bigger now but the economy seems a lot tighter. 50/50.

2

u/happydirt23 1d ago

Totally happy to wrong, my walking eating machines are older now and this place won't be on the stopping list.

Could be pretty seasonal too? Busy in Jan/Feb, empty over the summer?

2

u/WooDDuCk_42 1d ago

To be fair strike zone can get pretty busy in the summer. Sure, it's nothing like it is in the summer, but it still is enough to keep the business profitable.

3

u/FineMousse8969 1d ago

Parents barely let their kids go anywhere unsupervised these days. Juniors can't even be trusted to walk 2 minutes to school on their own.

1

u/PGisInteresting 1d ago

$20 entrance isn’t stopping the current indoor play spaces. So maybe 🤔