One of Northampton’s last soft play centres has CLOSED and will soon open for occasion venue hire
One of Northampton’s last soft play centres closed at the start of this week and is rebranding to offer special occasion venue hire from next month.
Zoomania, which evolved from Hullabaloo and has been open in Gladstone Road since 2020, closed for the final time on Monday (April 21).
The business is reopening as Northants Venue Hire and bookings can be made from next Saturday (May 3).
Members of the public will be able to hire the venue for special occasions, such as birthdays, team building, social events, engagement and graduation parties and more – and it is suitable for people of all ages.
It will be available to hire for two-hour slots from 9.15am until 11pm everyday, with weekdays priced at £375 and weekends priced at £450.
These prices include the multi-tiered soft play, a free-to-use arcade, dance floor, pool table and photo booth. A fully licensed bar and laser games are available as optional extras at an additional price, which the business will confirm in due course.
Zoomania was one of the three brands trading under Indoor Adventure Ltd, which is run by director and owner Rob Scott. The soft play centre is accompanied by Laser Zone and All About Party Bags in Gladstone Road.
Zoomania is now changing to Northants Venue Hire and the other two aspects of Indoor Adventure Ltd will remain unchanged.
Rob told the Chronicle & Echo that among the reasons for the change is an increase in costs – including business rates, rent, energy bills, minimum wage and national insurance.
There has also been a lack of demand during weekdays over the past two years and a decrease in customer footfall.
“There’s increased competition with Berzerk,” said Rob. “Through the council, they offer free entry and concession to anybody who has a Trilogy membership card.
“Most people in Northampton will have one of those cards and we can’t compete with that kind of offering. Everything is tight these days and they would rather go there.”
The hope is that making the switch to Northants Venue Hire will streamline the business, particularly in terms of foreseeing income levels and staff and energy costs.
“There was a lot of interest when it was Zoomania to rent the building, but the only option was to do this out of hours,” said Rob. “Now anybody can book exclusively at any time of the day.
“The activities inside the venue are all going to be free of charge to use. We’re building an arcade room and adding a pool table, photo booth, disco area, large jenga and connect four for everybody to enjoy.
“We’re keeping the play frame as well, which is a huge attraction. There’s not going to be an age limit at all as the customer is in charge of the party and hire.”
The venue’s kitchen is going to remain closed and those hiring will be able to bring their own food.
“It’s value for what’s on offer,” said Rob. “There are not many venues where you can use the entire play frame and the games free of charge. It is a bespoke party for two hours.
“If you hire a venue or hall, you’ve got to provide the activities and rent other things on top. We’ve got it all here included in the price.”
Northants Venue Hire is open for business from next Saturday (May 3), with a big event at Laser Zone the following day. May 4 is commonly known as Star Wars Day because ‘May the fourth be with you’ is a play on the iconic line ‘may the force be with you’.
On that day, anyone who attends Laser Zone will get a half price entry ticket to use during their next visit.
What will happen to Laser Zone moving forward?
Laser Zone will remain unchanged as one of the three brands operating under Indoor Adventure Ltd from Gladstone Close.
“It is a separate entrance and arena,” said Rob. “There’s been over £100,000 invested in Laser Zone and this includes state-of-the-art new guns. It’s more interactive and we’ve spruced up the entrance area.”
Laser Zone is still open for catered parties, corporate events and both walk-in and online bookings. All of the slots are open hour by hour and Rob assures customers it will “always be like that”.
Hour-long laser sessions can be added to the two-hour packages at Northants Venue Hire and Rob said: “Some people don’t understand the fun side of laser tag. It’s a real team building activity and challenge, and we want people to know it’s available.”