The recently opened Experience Factory in Antwerp was the premier venue for a networking event in the day recreation sector on Tuesday, March 10th. This Family Entertainment Center (FEC) is a trendsetter in this sector, even in terms of sheer size. Two activities are the main focus: go-karting and Time Mission. These central facilities are, therefore, outstanding in their execution within the recreation sector.
This open house day was organized by Pleisureworld , where Richard Otten took the stage for the first time as the company's CEO. Former director Hans van Leeuwen was also present, but he is currently focusing more on consultancy work with Slimm Advies.
The world of Family Entertainment Centers
The Experience Factory in Antwerp is classified as a Family Entertainment Center. "That's a particularly diverse segment within day recreation," explains trend watcher Hans van Leeuwen. "There's a lot of discussion about the name. These businesses, for example, target a much broader demographic than just 'families.' You should really interpret that as a sense of family. It's like one big living room where you can do all sorts of fun things together."
Van Leeuwen mentions trends in this sector, including:
- De scaling upThis location in Antwerp is already approaching 20.000 m² – and has room for expansion. Van Leeuwen: "The larger surface area has advantages in terms of efficiency, but it also allows you to serve larger groups."
- Arcades are on the rise in the mix of activities. These have now earned a permanent place among the Big 5 standard activities. Van Leeuwen: "But then you have to create a complete experience – so not just put a few slot machines."
Location selection is a challenge
Evelien Bonneux, the founder of the Experience Factory, explains the complex search for the most suitable location: "I'm a perfectionist, and that doesn't exactly make the search any easier. We have a lot of experience thanks to our karting location in Eupen and the many racetracks and FECs we've developed with our company ProKarting."
Factors that play a role in choosing a location:
- Sufficient surface area
- Sufficient height (e.g. for the karting race circuit)
- The correct zoning plan
- Ample parking (and accessibility)
- Reach of the target group in the region
- The right rental price for the location
Bonneux: "At this location in Antwerp, everything was ultimately green. Moreover, it's a building with a beautiful history – the city's old Opel factory. A building with a story. That completed the picture for us."
According to Bonneux, the biggest challenge with these kinds of large projects lies primarily in establishing a high-quality team. “The recreation sector remains a people-driven business, and at this location, with its very large scale, it requires considerable effort and planning. Just as at our Eupen location, we prioritize the company's values in staff training. The implementation of a robust venue operating system has also contributed to making the many processes manageable.” Financing also wasn't entirely straightforward, as lenders found it difficult to assess such a new project without extensive market benchmarking data.
Anchor1: Time Mission; the Rolls Royce of action games
Within FECs, Action Games are often a further development of Escape Rooms. While escape rooms primarily focus on solving puzzles together, action games have also expanded to include more physical activities. Within an Action Game concept, there are multiple portals where "challenges" can be found. The key is that the tasks must be completed collaboratively.
Evelien Bonneux called Time Mission "The Rolls Royce of action games," and after our own experience, we can certainly confirm that. Upon entering, a story is told that explains the objectives of your team's "missions." The various portals are well-designed and atmospheric, inviting you to fully immerse yourself in the experience. Time Mission was developed by a Dutch company (Pieter Martens), with initial locations in the US. It has since expanded to Europe.
Liam Hezemans, on behalf of the Time Mission production company, explains the commercial aspect of this attraction:
- An average Time Mission attraction has 25 rooms (portals) in which you can perform various activities.
- The capacity in Antwerp is a maximum of 120 people per hour. Two staff members are needed to supervise this entire group.
- The location purchases the games from Time Mission and also pays a fee per user ($2,50 per person)
- Every 15-20 months, two new challenges become available, allowing locations to introduce new challenges regularly (and encourage repeat visits).
More information: www.timemission.com
Anchor2: Karting; from men's sport to family experience
Maarten Broekx from Leisure Pioniers concludes the list of keynote speakers and gives his interpretation of the Karting activity in particular (by ProKarting).
Broekx: "When we look at old photos of karting, we mainly see dingy halls where karting was a truly noisy, male-dominated sport. Nowadays, partly due to the rise of e-karting, the target audience has become much broader, and it's an activity that's widely accessible and appeals to many different groups."
Broekx also looks beyond current developments: "If we look at Formula 1 races, we see that the competition is primarily used as a core activity to raise your profile. More and more fringe activities are being organized around the Formula 1 races, which feed off of F1's image. I see the same thing happening with karting. This shapes the image. Meanwhile, more and more other activities are being organized around karting."
More information: www.experience-factory.com/antwerp/nl/