Launch Trampoline Park opens for business Saturday, with Stars and Strikes on the way

After months of preparation, the launch of a trampoline and dodgeball facility in north Columbus will take place Saturday.

That’s the grand opening day for Launch Trampoline Park in the former Front Porch of the South thrift mall and event center at 7607 Veterans Parkway.

The venue is operated by Phenix City residents Jessica and Jimmy Fullerton, who were awarded the franchise by Launch Franchising LLC, a Warwick, R.I.-based company founded in 2012 by Robert Arnold and former National Football League cornerback Ty Law.

“We’re just really excited to finally be open and have it all done,” Jessica Fullerton said Thursday. “It’s a pretty amazing facility and setup that we have. Even if they’ve gone to trampoline parks before in other areas, I think they’re going to be really impressed with Launch’s setup. There’s a focus on family entertainment and fitness and fun, and safety. We make it a really fun, cool atmosphere for everybody.”

A ribbon-cutting ceremony and private friends and family event was scheduled at the facility on Thursday, with Law there. The retired NFL cornerback and Pro-Bowler, now 42, played 15 seasons, which included three championships with the New England Patriots.

Jessica Fullerton said social media friends of Launch Trampoline will have access to a special one-time offer that will be announced by Friday morning. (Click here for Launch on Facebook)

Tickets for Saturday’s opening are already on sale and available for purchase at www.launchcolumbus.com. Prices are $8 for 30 minutes, $14 for 60 minutes, $19 for 90 minutes and $24 for 120 minutes, plus tax. The facility also will be available for events such as birthday parties, church outings and fund-raising. Those using the park are required to sign a waiver of liability.

“What I’ve seen from trampoline parks in the past is that for the first few months everybody wants to go check it out,” said Jessica Fullerton, noting the venue can only sell 155 trampoline jumper tickets per hour. “So sometimes the wait times to get an hour-long jump can be kind of lengthy. It’s really better to purchase your tickets and do your waivers online” to minimize those waits.

Launch Trampoline Park in Columbus is a 25,000-square-foot venue with more than 16,000 square feet of that space dedicated to connected trampolines that form one large jumping surface and angled trampoline walls that participants can bounce off. Customers also can play dodgeball, have fun in basketball dunking lanes, and spend time in a “party zone” complete with a cafe and arcade.

Operating hours for the park are noon to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday (with toddler time 10 a.m. to noon Saturday), 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday, and noon to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

Launch Franchising’s website lists 15 locations, most of them in the northeast U.S., with Columbus, Montgomery, Ala., and Asheville, N.C., the only parks outside of that region.

The trampoline facility might be called the appetizer for an even larger entertainment attraction — a 57,000-square-foot complex called Stars and Strikes — that also is locating inside the same building as Launch. Its grand opening is set for June 11. The $7 million facility will be a mix of bowling, laser tag, bumper cars and an arcade with a restaurant, bar and meeting space.

The north Columbus Stars and Strikes will be the ninth such venue by an Alpharetta, Ga.-based company launched more than a decade ago. This will be the first location outside of the Atlanta area.

“We look for markets that have young families,” Stars and Strikes co-founder Chris Albano said in a previous Ledger-Enquirer interview. “You guys have really vibrant youth sports programs in Columbus. That’s our niche. We do a great job with birthday parties, sports team parties, any kind of youth event. It’s certainly not all that we do, but it’s a big piece of it, because we feel if we connect with families and children we’re successful when it’s all said and done.”

This story was originally published May 26, 2016 at 7:08 PM with the headline "Launch Trampoline Park opens for business Saturday, with Stars and Strikes on the way."