Growing a Park One Attraction at a Time

Most family entertainment centers weren't built in one go. They started with one attraction that worked, and added the next when the money and the crowd said it was time. If you own a mini golf course, a dairy bar or a golf center and you're wondering what comes next, that's the normal path, not a second-best one.

The Holiday Mountain Fun Park path

MGC publishes a testimonial from Craig P. of Holiday Mountain Fun Park in Monticello, NY that traces this path in the owner's own words. He wrote: "We started out with a miniature golf course and now, thanks to MGC Developers, we have a whole Family Entertainment Center." The go-kart track came next: "The crew at MGC designed and built us an awesome go-kart track with no hassles or surprises." Then the batting cages: "We liked their ideas so much that we asked them to come back and built our state-of-the-art batting cages."

Notice the order: mini golf, then go-karts, then batting cages. Each step was its own project with its own budget and its own opening day. Craig P. also wrote: "Steve helped us with the design and layout and stayed with us right up to opening day." That is one park's order, and a single park isn't a rule, but it shows how a business can add pieces without starting over.

If you're starting from zero, MGC's published figures show why many parks begin with mini golf. A typical course takes one half to three quarters of an acre and 6 to 12 weeks to build, and starts at about $238,700. A go-kart track, by MGC's numbers, wants about an acre and starts at about $229,995. Mini golf asks for less ground and less time, which is a reasonable place to start learning your market.

Adding to a business you already have

You don't need an empty field to start. MGC's page on driving ranges says it directly: "Even if your amusement business is complete, you could still benefit from a stand-alone driving range." By MGC's list, a range includes barrier netting, poles, synthetic turf, a concrete tee-line, a synthetic turf putting green and a covered shade structure.

Batting cages work the same way. MGC builds them in 4 to 9 stalls and lists a typical build at 4 to 6 weeks. Its published prices run from $121,000 for 4 stalls to $205,000 for 9, with the sump pump pit and electrical wiring extra. Rich M., who owns Caddy Shack in North Dartmouth, MA, wrote: "Steve did a great job on our batting cages." Gretchen B. of Mrs. B's Ice Cream & Putt Putt added a mini golf course to a dairy bar. The pattern is the same: one working business, one new attraction.

How MGC's process works

MGC describes the same sequence for every build, and it repeats for each new attraction:

• Your site is chosen.
• A budget is set from the demographics of your market.
• MGC draws a layout and design.
• You accept the design.
• A deposit of 10% of the budgeted project cost schedules the construction date.
• Weekly draws are paid as work proceeds, with final payment upon completion.

Because the process repeats, it gives you a natural checkpoint. You can decide on the next piece after the last one has opened and you've watched how your customers use it.

Doing the math on the next attraction

MGC's FAQ gives one revenue illustration for a go-kart track: a 10-minute ride, a $5 ticket, 20 cars and 6 riders per car per hour comes to $600 an hour at 100% capacity. That is MGC's illustration, built on its numbers, and it is not a promise. Real parks rarely run at full capacity every hour, so run your own version with your own ticket price, your own hours and a more cautious fill rate, then compare it with the build cost before you commit.

Leave room on the site plan for the attraction after next, and keep parking, restrooms and staffing in the same picture. MGC's About page lists help with purchasing equipment, operating and maintaining your facility, site location and obtaining permits, which are the things that tend to surprise first-time builders.

To see each attraction in detail, start at /services/miniature-golf-courses and move through /services/go-kart-tracks, /services/batting-cages and /services/driving-ranges. The /faq covers pricing and process. To talk about your next addition, call MGC at (860) 749-4434 or use /contact.