Shakalaka

Shakalaka, an extreme indoor trampoline arena, will open in April on 4710 University Drive in Huntsville. (Contributed by Case Lawrence)

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama – After spending more than a year searching Huntsville's landscape, California developer Case Lawrence said he has found the ideal spot to launch the city's first fully-dedicated indoor trampoline park on University Drive.

In April, Lawrence's 10th U.S. trampoline park, Shakalaka, will open inside the former Hibbett Sports building in the Huntsville West Shopping Center on 4710 University Drive. Renovations are set to begin soon on the 26,000-square-foot facility, which will feature up to 12,000 square feet of trampolines.

Lawrence, who said trampoline parks are among the hottest amusement venue and extreme sports trends in the U.S., said the Huntsville area has been "underserved in the marketplace for extreme sports activities."

"Right now, the demand for these parks is just incredible," he said. "These parks are very popular everywhere they go up. I really like the demographics in Huntsville, like the incomes, like the high numbers of young adults. We also really like the growth in that part of the county right now."

Shakalaka will feature a large open trampoline field, trampoline dodgeball stadium, slack lines, dunk basketball hoops and Olympic Foam Pits with more than 50,000 cubes of foam. Lawrence said the attraction will also have a Ninja Warrior Aerial Obstacle Course, which will be the first of its kind in Alabama.

The venue will be open for birthday parties, corporate events, dodgeball tournaments and trampoline aerobics classes. Shakalaka will also hold a nighttime Club Boom promotion, which will take place on weekends with laser lighting and live DJ music.

"This industry is so new," Lawrence said. "It really is the frontier. I'm one of the grandpas in the industry and I've only been in it almost three years now."

Lawrence opened his first trampoline park in Fresno, Calif., followed by locations in Albuquerque, N.M., and Durham, N.C. He later opened venues in Birmingham, Knoxville, Virginia Beach, Va., Richmond, Va., Greenville, S.C., and Columbia, S.C.

Lawrence, who said the Huntsville trampoline park will employ about 30 workers to start, is also in the process of opening attractions in Chattanooga and San Antonio, Texas.

Don Beck of The Shopping Center Group in Huntsville represented the landlord, The Brookhill Group, during the transaction. Beck said the indoor trampoline business has been spreading throughout larger markets across the U.S.

"We are excited to see this use at Huntsville West Shopping Center," he said. "Because of Huntsville West's convenient location and proximity to UAH and Cummings Research Park, we look forward to having groups and customers from all over north Alabama frequent Shakalaka."

Open six days a week with special extended hours on the weekends, Shakalaka will cost $12 an hour or $20 for two hours. Lawrence said there will be special pricing for children and social media promotions available throughout the week.

Although Skakalaka's target demographic will be young adults, Lawrence said the Huntsville attraction will have an atmosphere the whole family can enjoy.

Concerned about safety? Lawrence said trampoline parks have an injury rate of two incidents per 1,000 jumpers. Most injuries are minor and range from cuts and bruises to trampoline burn on bare feet.

"Otherwise, we usually see a broken bone for about every 10,000 jumpers," he said. "Trampoline parks have a safer incident rate than football, basketball, baseball, snow skiing, waterskiing and even bowling."

Unlike traditional elevated backyard trampolines, Lawrence said his parks have built-in platform decks around all jumping surfaces so jumpers cannot "fall off" the trampolines.

"Most injuries simply come from awkward landings or self-inflicted collision — similar to the risks of any active, social activity," he said. "Also, most injuries that do happen are a result of not obeying the safety rules."

Lawrence, who previously worked in real estate, said one of his biggest challenges was finding the right venue, which must be large, have high ceilings and a minimal number of beams.

Lawrence said the former Hibbett building is a unique space on University Drive and will be one of the nicest trampoline parks in the U.S. when it opens in April.

"We wanted to hurry and be the first trampoline park in Huntsville," he said. "Giving our focus on the Southeast, it really made a lot of sense. I think Huntsville is going to really like it."

Send Lucy Berry an email at lberry@al.com.



Updated at 12:30 p.m. Jan. 9, 2013 to include comments from Don Beck.

