My girlfriend and I were discussing this yesterday. Given how short the outdoor season is here, and given the fact that land and warehouse space shouldn't be too difficult to get ahold of in this city (no more than other major cities), why doesn't this exist? I mean as far as I know, there aren't even any indoor BMX facilities and there's one "skate park" taking up a measly 2500 sq ft. This boggles my mind.
As a quintessential example of what I'm talking about, Joyride 150 is an indoor park in Markham, ON. They're open all day on weekends and during the afternoon / evening throughout the week. Basically it operates like a ski hill - you can buy an annual pass, or just a day pass. They've got a bunch of different areas, and even a spin studio in there.
These features would not be that expensive to build or maintain. The operational cost wouldn't be absurd, either; I keep comparing this to a ski hill or COP, and it's not like you have to run a chairlift or groom snow. Insurance is obviously a thing.
Now, that place has 90,000 square feet, and it could be done on a smaller scale. I guess I just don't understand why this wouldn't be viable here. Look at the volume that bike shops are able to do. Surely a decent chunk of the
huge number of people riding in the summer months would be interested in something like this. There's obviously opportunity for advertising partnerships with various industry participants, from local shops to, yknow, Trek bicycles or whatever.
What are the obstacles I'm missing here? Would it be so expensive to set up?