New life has been breathed into a failed city centre attraction, with eight lanes of bowling, arcade machines and 18 holes of mini golf coming to Christchurch.
The Archie Bros Cirque Electriq circus-themed bar, arcade and bowling alley, along with the Holey Moley mini golf course will open beneath the Hoyts cinema in the EntX building on Colombo St on Friday.
The attraction is designed to entertain families and teenagers during the day and then become an adult venue after 8pm, with the two bars serving bespoke cocktails.
The ground floor of the EntX building originally opened as a food court in 2019, but struggled to attract customers. The food outlets had all closed by the start of this year and work began on the new attraction.
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The two attractions are spread across about 1800 square metres, or the equivalent of nine tennis courts, on the ground floor of the city centre building.
Hoyts, the biggest tenant in the EntX building with seven cinema screens and 900 seats, remains unaffected by the changes.
Holey Moley originally started in Australia in 2016 and a branch opened in Auckland in 2018. The new Christchurch course features elaborate mini golf holes themed around pop culture touchstones like The Simpsons, ET, Monopoly and The Hobbit. One hole even features a working model of a Ferris wheel.
The arcade features 25 games including Mario Kart, a giant version of Hungry, Hungry Hippos, Daytona and a modern update of Space Invaders.
Funlab, the Melbourne-based company behind the new venture, had expansion plans for New Zealand after opening two premises in Auckland.
Funlab chief executive Michael Schreiber said Christchurch was chosen because of its rebuild story.
“We were excited by Christchurch as a city that is thriving in revitalised growth – we’re thrilled that our two hit entertainment spaces are set to elevate and add excitement to EntX in the city centre,” he said.
Mackersy Property investment and transactions director, Adam Copland, said they were thrilled to see their building come back to life.
“This space is a vibrant addition to the EntX precinct and a huge win for the Christchurch community,’’ he said.
“We can’t wait to see more locals venturing into the city to experience all the food and entertainment excitement that EntX and the city centre has to offer.”
Archie Brothers Cirque Electriq opened at the Westfield mall in the Auckland suburb of Newmarket in 2019. It is a circus-themed bar, with a bowling alley, bumper cars, laser tag, and arcade and virtual reality games. It claims to be the city’s “most Instagrammable bar”.
The two-storey Holey Moley at the Viaduct on the Auckland waterfront has an indoor golf course and karaoke. Both have brightly coloured and illuminated interiors, with bars specialising in cocktails, and sell meals and snacks.
Funlab, owned by San Francisco-based asset management company TPG Capital, has seven brands and 40 locations across Australia, New Zealand and Singapore.
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