Reinventing itself allows a family entertainment center to play the game differently
By Jer Monson
children are more easily located.” – Jeanne Lundgren, Director of Sales and Marketing
Walking into Rink Side Sports in Gurnee Mills mall two years ago was like walking into a warehouse. The facility, a unique family entertainment center combining traditional arcade entertainment such as laser tag and video games with an NHL-sized ice rink, was characterized by a high black ceiling, dark lighting, and drab coloration. “The idea was that the focus was on the games,” explains Jeanne Lundgren, the facility’s Director of Sales and Marketing. But if one happened to locate Rink Side’s cluttered entrance from the mall’s main hallway, row upon row of arcade games akin to grocery store aisles effectively stopped any progression into the facility.
Today, however, guests find a Rink Side Sports that has reinvented itself. Management at the facility, out of a desire to warm up the atmosphere and strengthen its appeal to families with small children, instituted a variety of basic, inexpensive changes that have created a rejuvenating, party-like atmosphere that feels both safe, inviting, and exciting.
As might be expected, a series of physical changes spearheaded Rink Side’s strategy. “Having opened up the facility’s main entrance to attract more attention from mall walkers, we first wanted to make the rest of the space more inviting,” said Rink Side’s General Manager Mike Hernbrott, “so we rearranged the arcade machines.” From long aisles that do little to showcase specific games or invite guests to venture further into the facility, Rink Side migrated the machines into a series of pods – clusters each consisting of several arcade games situated back to back.
Arranging the games in pods helped Rink Side accomplish several strategic goals. Pods of games geared toward younger children are located toward the front of the facility, in full view of those passing by in the mall. “Our experience since moving the games has led us to believe that the accessibility of the children’s games has inspired more passersby to allow their children a game or two, probably because there is not much commitment involved in just stepping inside the entrance,” noted Hernbrott. As guests move farther into the facility, however, the games in each pod become more mature in content. This allows for some separation between the age groups of the guests enjoying the arcade. In addition, older guests are inspired to venture further into the facility because more of the games are visible from the main entrance.
Ms. Lundgren also noted that, according to customer satisfaction surveys conducted by the facility, another benefit of the clustering has been increased feelings of safety for parents: “The arcade floor feels much more open and children are more easily located,” she said. Also, staff members, dressed in matching Rink Side polo shirts, are much more readily available for assistance.
While the height and coloration of the facility’s ceiling has not changed, its impact has. For starters, lamps now hang from the ceiling roughly eight feet off the arcade floor. Their positioning warms up the arcade and highlights open floor space whereas the previous higher, more ambiguous florescent lighting, while functional, added to the warehouse atmosphere. Ribbons of plastic flags in bold, primary colors also arch down toward guests and back to the ceiling again. The flags add significant color to the surroundings, serve to lower the perceived height of the ceiling, and imply excitement and an eventful atmosphere.
Another change is Rink Side’s expanded redemption counter. What was once a small, eight-foot-long counter tucked along a side wall has grown to almost four times the size. Well lit and brimming with prizes both in and out of the showcase, the counter’s position now fills that side wall in its entirety. It also draws guests in from the mall as it is much more visible than before, and features large, colorful prizes enticing to children. Most significantly, according to both Hernbrott and Lundgren, the new redemption counter’s prominence has allowed Rink Side to develop a more profitable balance between redemption games and arcade machines and more diverse entertainment options to keep guests coming back.
Rink Side also added several new offerings to its list of amenities. First, the laser tag arena was renovated and the facility invested in a new, more user-friendly and reliable LaserBlast system from Advanced Avionics, Inc. The arena’s futuristic entrance, located near the back of the facility, is decorated with a myriad of lights and a number of television monitors serving as live displays of the games of laser tag currently underway inside. In addition, this entrance stands in plain view, through the pods of arcade games, from the entrance of the facility, drawing guests further in.
Rink Side also installed a buffet and bar in the restaurant area already in existence. While the buffet served to legitimize the restaurant and move it away from any concession-stand perceptions, the bar area completed it with a more mature appeal. “There were initial concerns about the effect serving liquor in close proximity to children’s games would have on the family atmosphere,” noted Jeanne Lundgren. However, Rink Side blended the area away from the arcade with a nearly-unnoticeable partition wall and developed it into a viewing area for the ice rink. Complete with television sets positioned so that parents can watch children skate without missing the big game, the bar has been a hit and expanded the facility’s appeal to parents.
To complete the overhaul, Rink Side made changes to boost the dynamic between the ice rink and the other entertainment offerings. While signage in the arcade and restaurant promote the facility’s Learn to Skate children’s programs, materials in the bar promote the adult leagues taking place at night. According to Mike Hernbrott, children participating in the Learn to Skate programs also receive discounts and freebies at the restaurant, tokens for the arcade, and other incentives that often lead to birthday parties characterized by pizza and plenty of videogames and laser tag for all.
As of late, the combination of entertainment options and amenities that appeal to adults has led to new opportunities for Rink Side. Companies have found the atmosphere ideal for work-related gatherings and Rink Side has played host to corporate events as well as business networking meetings.
The management at Rink Side has been very pleased with the effect their changes have made in both guest satisfaction and the bottom line. However, they are not done yet. They have more ideas in the works on how to promote some of their entertainment offerings outside of the facility’s entrance, and want to continue to develop the relationship between the arcade and the ice rink. And as more changes occur, although the ice will have to stay cold, returning guests will continue to find the atmosphere at Rink Side warmer than ever.
