Kenai’s newest entertainment option has opened just in time for winter.
The Extreme Fun Center, a project in the works for around three years, had their soft opening Wednesday.
“We’re so excited to be here in Kenai,” said Cheryl Metiva, director of Alaska sales and marketing for Coming Attraction Theatres, the center’s owner.
Metiva said the fun center is like a “giant arcade for all ages.” She said the center has 50 games, amd more are on the way. Some of the games are newer and involve popular video games and virtual reality, while other games are classic, like Skee Ball.
“As the business grows, we have the ability to grow,” Metiva said.
Hungry patrons can order pizza, wings, mozzarella sticks and more from the center’s food court.
The center also has space to to host parties and events.
The center is cashless, and gamers recieve pre-paid cards for games and keep track of points, which can then be used to pay for prizes at the gift shop.
With the loss of Kenai’s bowling alley years ago, the Extreme Fun Center is hoping to fill a gap in central peninsula entertainment market.
“We felt there was a need here,” Metiva said.
Between 12 and 16 jobs were added to the community with the openings of the theatre and the fun center.
In 2017, Coming Attractions purchased the former Kenai Professional Center, now home to the Extreme Fun Center. The two-story office space was built in 1968, and has been sitting vacant since the mid 1980s, the Clarion previously reported. Coming Attractions has Extreme Fun Centers in Wasilla and Aberdeen, Washington.
The Ashland, Oregon-based Coming Attraction Theatres operates 18 movie theaters in coastal Washington, Oregon and northern California, according to its website.
In 2017, the Oregon company also bought the former Kenai Regal Kambe Theatre — now called Kenai Cinema. The movie theatre opened in May and has expanded from three screens to seven screens with stadium seating.
The Extreme Fun Center’s hours will be the same as its Wasilla location, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
Patrons at the newly opened Kenai Extreme Fun Center play the “Space Invaders” game, in Kenai, Alaska, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2019. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
The Kenai Extreme Fun Center and Kenai Cinema are both owned by Oregon-based company, Coming Attraction Theatres, in Kenai, Alaska, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2019. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
Players shoot at targets in a Halo game at the newly opened Kenai Extreme Fun Center on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2019, in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)
