Hayley Benton

hbenton@citizen-times.com

The wait is over. At 3 p.m. Thursday, Sky Zone Asheville, the new trampoline park at 1836 Hendersonville Road, opened to the public, sending both kids and adults flying into the air and falling into foam pits across a 24,000-square-foot room.





Opening a bit later than initially planned — late March rather than early February — Sky Zone Asheville is more than just trampolines. It's a hub for fitness, fun, activity and entertainment, with a huge (and challenging) climbing wall, a warrior course, foam-pit jousting, slam-dunk court and more.

The delay, explained managing partner Charles Conner, is because the new park is somewhat of a prototype for the next generation of Sky Zone parks, the local franchise's parent company that owns 150-plus parks in five countries — and many of the Asheville attractions are brand-new designs, which meant lots of equipment testing and re-testing before delivery.

On the climbing wall, there are no harnesses to keep climbers from plummeting below — though, of course, the pit below is safely cushioned, filled to the brim with foam.

There will be a jousting court, an obstacle course, trampoline basketball, climbing, rope course challenges, a nighttime Glow event, fitness classes and, eventually, a special prototype dodgeball court that's completely new to the company. Conner and the Asheville team, though, are still waiting on that attraction to be delivered and installed.

"This will be one of their most innovative parks," Conner said in a December interview, while the space was empty and construction just beginning.

Sky Zone Asheville will be the area's second trampoline park, coming one year after Launch opened in Arden. Missing a few of its key attractions, the park's soft-opening is on Thursday, and, when the dodgeball court arrives — complete with the biggest trampoline in the park — Sky Zone will hold a grand opening to celebrate. Conner said that he hopes it will be in by early April, but that the team has experienced delays with it before.

The park is designed to entertain people of all ages, from toddlers to adults, and parents of kids with big age gaps can bring the 12-year-old and the toddler to the park: There's a special area just for little ones to play without fear of being trampled.

Birthday parties and party rooms are available at the new park as well.

Tickets to jump, climb, run and joust at Sky Zone Trampoline Park are priced by time slots — from $11 for a 30-minute jump, $16 for an hourlong jump, $19 for a 90-minute jump and $22 for two hours. To learn more, reserve a time or sign a waiver to jump, head to skyzone.com/asheville.