Big Ontario mall uses entertainment as bait.Ontario Mills Ontario Mills is a large enclosed outlet mall located in Ontario, California; it is one of the primary tourist attractions in the Inland Empire. seems to be a huge success by any yardstick. Some 12 million shoppers have wound their way around the mall's one-mile oval track  It has been suggested that and be merged into this article or section. since its November 1996 opening.
But it's more than just the general merchandise that have crowds flocking to the 1.7 million-square-foot mall. It's the entertainment. Shoppers wander through four courtyards called "neighborhoods" where they encounter a talking tree, as well as a gauntlet of music videos and ads blasting from 28 giant TV monitors hanging from the ceiling every 20 feet. And that just for openers. The restaurant at Dave & Buster's, a high-tech adult arcade, offers a retreat from the buzz of the 200 games. "It's kind of become the day care center for husbands at the mall," said Dennis Paine, vice president and director of communications Director of Communications is a position in the private and public sectors. The Director of Communications is responsible for managing and directing an organization's internal and external communications. for Dave & Buster's. "Wives are dropping off their husbands and then going shopping for a few hours." Taken as a whole, Ontario Mills is the epitome of "location-based entertainment, a concept industry observers say will play an increasingly dominant role in shopping malls. "They are a fun, safe and cute place to go at night, especially since they have been designed from the ground up," said Kevin Skislock, research director at L.H. Friend, Wienress. "By planning components like parking and security, they become a great alternative to the downtown areas of days past." Because of technology, said Skislock, "what you used to have to travel to Disneyland for can now be had on a local basis and this draws traffic into the stores." One example is the American Wildnerness Experience, which opens next month. Visitors will be able to explore regions of America such as the Redwood Forest and the Grand Canyon Grand Canyon, great gorge of the Colorado River, one of the natural wonders of the world; c.1 mi (1.6 km) deep, from 4 to 18 mi (6.4–29 km) wide, and 217 mi (349 km) long, NW Ariz. . The simulated ecosystems will feature a combination of more than 70 species of live animals and educational exhibits. Uniformed "rangers" will lead lectures and visitors will be ushered into a Wild Ride motion-simulator theater. A wilderness-themed retail store and restaurant are set to open prior to the exhibits. "Parents want a place where they can take the kids for a fun but educational experience," said Billy Wart, vice president of operations for New York-based Ogden Entertainment Services Inc., owner of American Wilderness Experience. "If parents are anything like me, they get tired of watching their kids play video games See video game console. all the time," he added. Dave & Buster's and Sega GameWorks take a higher-tech approach to entertainment. Dave & Buster's is an upscale arcade geared for "kids" between the ages of 25 and 44. It features virtual reality games, speedway, ski and golf simulator, shuffle-board, pocket billiards billiards, any one of a number of games played with a tapered, leather-tipped stick called a cue and various numbers of balls on a rectangular, cloth-covered slate table with raised and cushioned edges. and play-for-fun blackjack blackjack, one of the world's most widely played gambling card games; also known as twenty-one or vingt-et-un. Despite contesting claims between the French and Italians, its origins are unknown. casino. The mall's other entertainment anchor, Sega GameWorks, is a high-tech video game palace with over 200 games ranging from traditional air hockey Air hockey is a game for two competing players trying to score points in the opposing player's goal. Equipment Air hockey requires an air hockey table, two mallets, and a puck. and skeeball to motion simulation and networked multiplayer games. In addition to its entertainment anchors, Ontario Mills features a 30-screen AMC (Advanced Mezzanine Card) See AdvancedTCA. movie megaplex, and an Edwards Cinema Corp. 24-screen cineplex just across the parking lot. "They're pulling in good numbers so far," Skislock said, "but time will tell whether they will be able to continue to do that." Enjoying the benefit of the throngs being drawn by the entertainment offerings are the center's more-traditional anchors JCPenney Outlet Store An outlet store or factory outlet is a retail store in which manufacturers sell their stock directly to the public through their own branded stores. The stores can be can be brick and mortar or online. , Virgin Megastore, Burlington Coat Factory Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corporation is a national department store retailer focusing on clothing and shoes, with over 360 stores in 42 states (as of 2006). In early 2007, the first location to be opened in Canada will be at the Vaughan Mills mall in Toronto. , TJ Maxx and Marshalls. Other stores, including a department store outlet and home furnishings, will also be added to the tenant list in the near future, said Samuels. By design, the center is not 100-percent leased, he said. "We plan to constantly reinvent ourselves to always be as new and exciting as retail can be," he said. It opened at 90 percent leased and has 12 anchors, roughly twice the typical six to eight anchors at other Mills locations. Attracted by affordable land prices and population growth, retailers have been eyeing locations in the Inland Empire In·land Empire A region of the northwest United States between the Cascade Range and the Rocky Mountains, comprising eastern Washington, eastern Oregon, northern Idaho, and western Montana. Farming, lumbering, and mining are important to the area. . "The population has slowed down from the tremendous growth in the past few years, but the area is going to be a hot retail market," said Jack Kyser, chief economist with the Economic Development Corp. of Los Angeles County. Outlet stores make more sense than a department store as there is more in-depth selection of a particular brand at that stores' outlet, he said. But, Kyser said the retail industry is in chaos as we lose familiar names and build new concepts such as Ontario Mills. |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion