Forget the 90s. The dream of the eighties is alive in Portland.

Old Town's old-school video game palace Ground Kontrol is getting ready to go Donkey Kong on a new cross-town competitor.

Portland Monthly reports that the retro arcade has plans to expand by 4,000 square feet into the former Backspace Cafe just around the corner.

"The new area will house an expanded concrete and steel bar, with a dozen high tech, super-cooled taps and built-in video displays, along with a retail area selling merchandise and classic console games," the magazine reports.

Ground Kontrol's owners say they will move their epic selection of pinball games and other stand-up arcade machines to the new space.

In addition to adding the space-age, "Fifth Element"-style bar, the arcade wants to buy the two-player flight simulator Star Wars Battle Pod and at least two other huge games they currently don't space for, Portland Monthly reported.

Ground Kontrol has reportedly been planning the expansion, which will double its space, for a couple years. But Ground Kontrol, which opened in 1999, is certainly hyperaware that new 4,000-square-foot retro arcade called Quarterworld is about to open on Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard.

That's right: There has apparently never been a better time to be the owner of a video game arcade in Portlandia.

The Ground Control expansion is scheduled to open in summer.

For more information about the construction, visit Ground Kontrol's website.

-- Joseph Rose

503-221-8029

jrose@oregonian.com

@josephjrose