The wraps will soon come off what’s being billed as an entertainment juggernaut and a magnet for fun-loving millennials.

The Rec Room is a new 3,300-square-metre adult play space at Masonville Place mall — half of it packed with amusements ranging from axe-throwing, arcade and virtual reality games, billiards, air hockey, karaoke, comedy, DJs and live bands.

Rec Rooms are a new venture for Cineplex, Canada’s dominant movie theatre chain, which has diversified out of its core business into areas such as a London-based digital signage business, arcade games and electronic sports such as high-tech golf driving ranges.

The London Rec Room, scheduled to open April 30, will be the fifth one in Canada and the first in Southwestern Ontario.

David Terry, vice-president of the Rec Room division of Cineplex, said the venue is mostly targeted at 19-35 year olds looking for a great night out and fodder for their social-media feeds.

“They are not known for what they own, but what they do. They are looking for fun, premium experience,” he said.

The other half of the venue will be restaurant/bar space featuring steaks, burgers and pizza cooked over real wood fires, finished off with decadent desserts, like stuffed doughnuts.

The heart of the kitchen is the multi-level Inferno grill that cooks meat, fish and vegetables over a genuine wood fire with its own dedicated exhaust system. There’s also a separate wood-fired pizza oven.

The Rec Room will take up almost all of the second-floor space vacated first by the Zellers department store, then the short-lived Target store location, which closed in 2015.

The Rec Room restaurant alone has 225 seats and the entire venue can accommodate 750 people.

The entertainment hall and separate party room features a professional sound and lighting system, which can be partitioned for ticketed events.

No loonies, tokens or tickets will be needed in the arcade area. Games work on an electronic wristband that is digitally loaded with value to play games and track points players accumulate in game play, which can be redeemed for prizes ranging from candy to iPads.

But the wristbands aren’t required.

“You can just come in and have a beer, play one of the games, or just have dinner,” said communications director Sarah Van Lange.

Cineplex, which operates Rec Rooms in downtown Toronto, two Edmonton malls and one Calgary mall, plans to expand to 15 Rec Rooms across Canada.

Terry said the Masonville site is the smallest market so far for a Rec Room, but he has high hopes for the location.

“This is a great mall,” he said.

“We knew the traffic is really strong here.” he said.

The Rec Room will employ about 125 people, about one-quarter of them full time.

The opening of the Rec Room will complete the $28.5-million refit of the former Target store. The lower floor is occupied by fashion retailer Marshalls and the HomeSense home décor outlet.

In 2016, Masonville completed a $77-million renovation of the former Sears Canada space and other parts of the mall.

Masonville general manager Brian O’Hoski said the addition of the Rec Room is part of a plan to broaden the mall’s appeal beyond shopping.

But the plan to open the suburban entertainment centre came under fire in October 2016, when Cadillac-Fairview sought a rezoning from London council’s planning and environment committee.

The owner of Palasad, a venue offering food and games at two London locations, said at the time the Rec Room was like a “death star” that would kill businesses closer to the core.

Despite those concerns, council approved the zoning change.

Terry said entertainment and dining are becoming more important attractions in malls as retailers feel the pinch of online shopping.

“That’s the way commercial real estate is going in Canada and everywhere. They are looking for different options to bring people into the mall other than shopping,” said Terry.

Mayor Matt Brown was one of the city officials and media representatives taking a construction tour of the Rec Room on Wednesday.

He noted The Factory, a new “indoor adventure park” featuring ziplines and trampolines, now being completed inside the old Kellogg plant on Dundas Street, also is to open this spring.

“That will gives us two big new attractions in the city and make us the real hub for entertainment in Southwestern Ontario,” said Brown.

hdaniszewski@postmedia.com

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