Chestnut Street will be more "hoppin'" this summer
Trampoline park, Chattanooga Brewing Company moving to the Southside
Aquarium? Check. Outdoor recreation? Check. Indoor rock climbing? Check. New, successful music venue? Check. The list could go on, and now leaders are adding "trampoline park" to the expanding list of Chattanooga amenities and activities.
"The more variety of offerings we have, the better," Kim White, president of downtown economic development group River City Company, said. "I'm thrilled there is more going on around the stadium area. That area is prime for redevelopment."
In addition to the new indoor trampoline park—which will add about 30 jobs to the city—the new Chestnut Street development will also become the home of Chattanooga Brewing Company, which has outgrown its space on the North Shore.
It's been there for nearly three years, and the product is selling well, co-owner of Chattanooga Brewing Company Mark Marcum said.
The locally made beer is also available in Atlanta and Knoxville, but the brewing team needs more space in order to expand distribution further, he said.
The new brewery will be much larger and will allow for the capacity to can and create keg products. There will also be a tasting room and kitchen.
"You'll be able to get some food along with the beer ... but we are not trying to be like The Terminal," Marcum said. "We will have a simple menu."
The Chattanooga Brewing Company will be a new structure of about 4,000 square feet, while the trampoline park is going inside existing buildings owned by developer John Wise.
Marcum and his team are still working out details of financing, but they hope to be open in late spring or early fall.
Crews are renovating the existing building for the trampoline park, which should be open in June or July, Amanda Leming with Wise Properties said.
In September, John Wise said this mixed-use development would also include apartments, but Leming said that's on hold, and for now, they are just moving forward with the trampoline park.
The designers and builders for the park will work to stay true to the structure's current vibe, which is rustic and industrial, Leming also said.
The building has about 30,000 square feet, and between 10,000 and 13,000 square feet of that will be dedicated to the trampoline park.
The rest of the area will include a café, full bar and kitchen with pizza oven, and a soundproof lounge with Wi-Fi that overlooks the trampolines.
There will also be party rooms, a foam pit and a dodgeball court. And the facility's operators plan to encourage people to form dodgeball teams and get a citywide competition going, Leming said.
Visitors can pay an hourly rate to jump, and trained professionals will also offer exercise classes.
Leming has participated in trampoline exercises classes, such as the ones the new facility will have, and she said it's a challenging but fun workout.
"You are going to feel it the next day," she said. "But you are also going to be laughing about it the next day. It's a full body and soul workout."
Customers can also rent the facility, and operators will organize event nights, Leming said.
Developers have been talking with leaders of PlayCore—a local company whose leaders design, market and manufacture recreation products—about getting some of their equipment in the new facility, too, she said.
The trampoline park will also have boards that are similar to snowboards or wakeboards attached to a wrench system, so users can practice flipping into foam pits, as if they were actually on the water or snow, Leming said.
As news of the new trampoline facility spread Wednesday, some people noted or joked that the project sounds like a "hop, skip and a jump" away from a lawsuit.
Despite being a growing trend across the nation, 18 families in Seattle filed lawsuits against a similar facility, alleging that trampoline parks are inherently dangerous, CNN reported last year.
But owner of two Chicago trampoline centers Eric Beck advertises his injury rates to help people make educated decisions, he told CNN.
According to his data, the injury rate at his facility is 0.2 percent—two out of every 1,000 trampoline jumpers.
And, according to a 2002 study in the American Academy of Pediatrics Journal, football players have a 1.5 percent injury rate and soccer players have a 2.1 percent rate, Beck told CNN.
With crews converting the former Bijou Theater downtown partially into a climbing facility, the city will soon have large recreation options on different sides of downtown.
White said that college students who have responded to River City Company surveys said that Chattanooga needs more activities for people younger than 21.
She also said the new facility will be a good opportunity for both parents and children to have play dates.
Trampoline park, Chattanooga? Check.
