Reving up for eXtreme fun

The Southshore Mall is getting an overhaul. The current owners, Backstage Entertainment, acquired the mall in June and will be bringing a new attraction to go where the old JC Penney was. The new attraction will be called the Extreme Fun Center and the main attraction is going to be racing karts. Aside from there being a race track for racing karts, there will be over 70 arcade games throughout the facility, mini bowling, laser tag and spinning bumper cars as well as a food court in the middle of all of the activities, primarily selling pizza.

The mall has already started to undergo it's transformation: "As you can see we have had the parking lot re-striped, the outside of the building has been power washed and we are going for a new look and overhauling everything. We have future plans to remodel the entrance of the mall near the theaters," said Coming Attractions Director of Marketing and Concessions Sean Darrell.

One fact to get clear is that all though the track is more or less the same as a "Go-Kart" track these karts that will be in the Extreme Fun Center are much faster than the standard Go-Kart that would first come to mind, "The difference between a Go-Kart and a racing kart is that a Go-Kart you are driving very slow, talking to your friend and just having fun. Racing karts are actually a professional sport, on an open road these karts can go up to 70 miles per hour on an open road," said Darrell. Inside and around the curvy corners of the indoor track, the racing karts will only be able to reach a range of 25 to 40 miles an hour depending on the skill of the driver. There is a learning period before one actually gets onto the track with the racing karts, and Darrell was adamant that the racing karts were not something to kid around with: "Your heart will be pounding, you will be sweating and it is an experience," Darrell said. The karts are 100% electric and feature no emissions and the track will take up half of the 69,000 square feet that is the facility.

"This isn't your standard laser tag, the community might not recognize it. Laser tag is a sport now, and with that better technology has come into the sport. They are doing some amazing things with it," said Darrell. The mini bowling is just a miniature version of the full sport, and will feature a lounge area to go with it.

The Extreme Fun Center will also feature plenty of party rooms, and the facility isn't just for children: "We will have multiple party rooms and community rooms and this is not just for kids. We do team building and corporate events and even full facility rentals," said Darrell.

You can expect the Extreme Fun Center to open in the 1st or 2nd week of December. Coming Attractions will hold a hiring event for the Extreme Fun Center at the mall on November 12 and November 13.