Boutique bowling company Lane7 is expanding its family entertainment offer by launching a new brand.
The Darlington company, which launched its very first venue in Newcastle in 2013, is opening three sites under the new Level X brand with the first locations including Middlesbrough’s Captain Cook Square and Glasgow’s St. Enoch Centre, which will open this summer.
Negotiations are under way for five more Level X sites, which the company says will bring together the best in games and tech, to create spaces for adults to enjoy as much as children.
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Level X sites will have activities spread over 50,000 sq ft – two or three times the size of Lane7 bowling alleys – and will offer activities such as bowling, mini-golf, interactive darts, e-carts, e-sports, arcades and a VR zone that will include the latest roaming VR tech.
The new brand is an extension of its Gutterball concept at North Shields, which has family friendly activities.
It created Gutterball after acquiring the former Star Bowl site at Royal Quays in North Shields, spending several months on refurbishing the site to create a leisure destination to appeal to all ages.
Alongside the bowling alley, Gutterball has ping-pong tables, arcade games, mini golf course, batting cages and a bar and food offering, which proved an instant hit when the venue reopened to the public in 2019.
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Chief executive Tim Wilks said the idea is to put the customer in control of the experiences and that visitors will have a wrist band they can load credit, then scan in order to play games.
He said: “Level X is all about merging the games you loved as a kid with cool tech elements to elevate the experience.
“We’ve been all over the world looking for the latest and best games with a particular focus on tech and I’m confident we can bring products the 海角视频 market has never have experienced before. The venues themselves are bigger than we’ve ever launched before and the fit outs will be fantastic – with loads of colour, different zones and huge attention to the detail.”
A host of jobs will also be created at the new sites, including project managers, property managers and tech roles to help build the venues .
Further jobs will be created as the company looks to expand its 11-strong Lane7 brand.
Mr Wilks added: “We’ve traded decently since reopening in April so we’re in a fairly strong financial position to allow us to crack on.”