The Towne Square Mall in Owensboro, Kentucky, had been dying the slow, predictable death that American retail establishments have been enduring for ten years: anchor stores had vanished, foot traffic had decreased to a trickle, and there was the distinct hollow sound of a once-full but now empty facility. After that, Maui moved in.
Families who had traveled an hour to visit the indoor go-kart track were waiting in line past the laser tag entrance on the soft opening weekend. This is the best indication that a new entertainment venue has made the right decision. The structure that was unable to accommodate a department store is now struggling to control the number of people it attracted before to its official grand opening.
145,000 square feet of previously vacant mall space are now occupied by Maui’s Family Entertainment Center, which has been converted with enough attractions to make the square footage worthwhile. The main attraction is the go-kart track, a whole indoor circuit running in a climate-controlled setting that is more significant than it might seem in a Kentucky July. Like any truly surprising object, the Twist-N-Shout spin coaster’s presence inside a former shopping mall still takes some time to register visually. It adds a category of attraction that most family entertainment centers of this size don’t.
The lineup of attractions includes laser tag, duckpin bowling, a dark ride, regular and glow-in-the-dark mini-golf, a motion theater, and a Kid’s Zone. There is a lot to offer under one roof, and the free entry concept eliminates the barrier that typically causes families to stop at the door by charging nothing to enter and loading a Play Card for the attractions you really want.
The pricing structure is doing some thoughtful work, so it’s worth carefully examining. It’s free to enter. Each attraction costs between $4 and $8. When you load $50 into a Play Card, the value increases to $65. At the attraction price points, an Unlimited Attractions Pass, which costs $39.99, pays for itself after about five or six rides. Most families with kids will reach this milestone before lunch.
The free admission keeps the commitment level low enough that the casual Saturday afternoon population comes up alongside the pre-purchasing planners, and the incentive structure encourages visitors toward the pass without demanding it. On opening weekend, the model seemed to be moving in the direction the owners had hoped, while it’s probable that the approach causes some congestion management issues while the venue settles into its rhythm.
Maui’s debut in Owensboro is intriguing because it indicates that the concept has the economic sustainability to operate in mid-sized markets, not just places with high discretionary income households and dense tourist populations within driving range. Owensboro is not a big metro.
When the excitement of opening weekend wears off and the matter of repeat business takes center stage, it’s still uncertain how Maui’s will fare. The cost prevents individual visits from seeming like significant commitments, and the attraction mix is sufficiently varied that a family may return multiple times without exhausting it.
Observing the lineups on opening weekend gives me the impression that Owensboro was prepared for this and that the old mall was given a second chance at life that no one anticipated.
