Main Event Entertainment is an American chain of

family entertainment center A family entertainment center (FEC) in the entertainment industry, also known as an indoor amusement park, family amusement center, family fun center, soft play, or simply fun center, is a small amusement park marketed towards families with small ...

s. The company was formerly headquartered in

Coppell, Texas Coppell ( ) is a city in the northwest corner of Dallas County in the U.S. state of Texas. It is a suburb of Dallas and a bedroom community in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Its population was 42,983 at the 2020 census. A small area in th ...

, before being sold to their former competitor Dave & Buster’s in 2022. Main Event currently operates 58 locations in 20 states, predominantly in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

and the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is List of regions of the United States, census regions defined by the United States Cens ...

, and features attractions and features such as

bowling alley A bowling alley (also known as a bowling center, bowling lounge, bowling arena, or historically bowling club) is a facility where the sport of bowling is played. It can be a dedicated facility or part of another, such as a clubhouse or dwelling ...

s, arcades,

laser tag Laser tag is a recreational shooting sport where participants use infrared-emitting light guns to tag designated targets. Infrared-sensitive signaling devices are commonly worn by each player to register hits and are sometimes integrated wit ...

virtual reality game A virtual reality game or VR game is a video game played on virtual reality (VR) hardware. Most VR games are based on player Immersion (virtual reality), immersion, typically through a virtual reality headset, head-mounted display unit or headset ...

s, gravity rope courses,

miniature golf Miniature golf (also known as minigolf, putt-putt, crazy golf, and by #Nomenclature, several other names) is an offshoot of the sport of golf focusing solely on the putting aspect of its parent game. The aim of the game is to score the lowest ...

billiards Cue sports are a wide variety of games of skill played with a cue stick, which is used to strike billiard balls and thereby cause them to move around a cloth-covered table bounded by elastic bumpers known as . Cue sports, a category of stic ...

escape room An escape room, also known as an escape game, puzzle room, exit game, or riddle room, is a game in which a team of players discover clues, solve puzzles, and accomplish tasks in one or more rooms in order to accomplish a specific goal in a limit ...

karaoke is a type of interactive entertainment system usually offered in nightclubs and bars, where people sing along to pre-recorded accompaniment using a microphone. Its musical content is an instrumental rendition of a well-known popular song. I ...

and a

restaurant A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and Delivery (commerce), food delivery services. Restaurants ...

under the name of ''Family Kitchen'' at all of their locations. Main Event was founded in 1998 by Neil Hupfauer and David Smith. The company became a subsidiary of

Ardent Leisure Coast Entertainment Holdings Limited (formerly Ardent Leisure Group and Macquarie Leisure Trust) is an Australian leisure company. It is most known for its operation of the Dreamworld (Australia), Dreamworld theme park and the WhiteWater World w ...

in 2006 before its acquisition by competitor Dave & Buster’s in June 2022. Main Event now operates as a family entertainment brand and separately owned unit of the more adult-oriented Dave & Buster's chain.

History

Main Event was founded in 1998 by Neil Hupfauer and David Smith.

, an Australian company acquired it from the founders in 2006. In 2018, Chris Morris replaced Charlie Keegan as president and CEO of the company. In June 2020,

sold a 24.2% stake in the company to RedBird Capital Partners. In early 2022, Main Event completed its acquisition of Summit Entertainment Centers, a

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

-based arcade, bowling and entertainment center chain with three locations that were located in Windsor, Thornton, and

Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is the most populous city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 478,961 at the 2020 census, a 15.02% increase since 2010. Colorado Springs is the second-most populous c ...

. The former Summit locations almost immediately started remodeling and transitioning to Main Event branding, arcade game cards, and signage after the completion of the sale to the latter company, and the Summit brand ceased to exist. On April 6, 2022,

Dave & Buster's Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc. (stylized in all caps) is an American restaurant and entertainment business headquartered in Dallas. Each Dave & Buster's location has a full-service restaurant, full bar, and a video arcade; the latter of w ...

announced its intent to acquire Main Event for $835 million, with Main Event's CEO Chris Morris becoming the chief executive of the combined company. Outgoing interim CEO Kevin Sheehan considered Main Event to be complementary to the main Dave & Buster's chain, citing that the two chains were positioned towards different demographics (families and young adults respectively), and that Main Event had a focus on larger-scale activities and attractions. The acquisition was completed in June 2022; Sheehan, who became chairman at that time, stated that larger Dave & Buster's locations could be converted to Main Event to take better advantage of their floorspace, and be supplanted by D&B locations with a smaller footprint in the same market.

Operations

Main Event Entertainment operates family entertainment centers which feature billiards, bowling, arcade games, virtual reality games, laser tag, miniature golf, gravity ropes course, and karaoke. Main Event offers facilities and services for birthday parties. The company also provides food and beverage, as well as meeting and event space with accommodations for corporate meetings or group gatherings; and event facility rental services. Each Main Event location offers full restaurant services under the name ''Family Kitchen'', with items like appetizers, pizza, hamburgers, salads, and unique desserts. Each location also has a full-service bar, serving beer, wine, mixed drinks, and a bar menu. Despite having a generally more family-oriented target demographic, Main Event has adopted the same policies as Dave & Buster’s, where individuals under the age of 18 or 21 (varies by location) may only enter the premises with a guardian who is at least 25 years of age, the latter of whom is strictly required to only bring a maximum of six (6) underage patrons in the same party. Certain locations, regardless of whether they are branded as a D&B or Main Event, have a strict curfew policy which requires patrons under the age of 21 to vacate the premises by 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday evenings.

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://www.mainevent.com/ 1998 establishments in Texas Entertainment companies of the United States Companies based in Coppell, Texas Franchises 2022 mergers and acquisitions Amusement arcades

History

Operations

See also

References

Further reading

External links