November 9, 2006 Thursday
Foothills Arcade May Get Extra Life
By Levi J. Long
The Arizona Daily Star, TucsonNov. 9--Get your quarters ready.
Foothills Mall, 7401 N. La Cholla Blvd., announced a deal with Sega Entertainment U.S.A. Inc. to develop a new 15,000-square-foot bar, restaurant and video game complex at the Northwest Tucson shopping center.
The revamped arcade will replace the 5,250-square-foot GameWorks already at Foothills Mall.
Sega Entertainment, the company that operates GameWorks, said the new "entertainment concept" will be the first in the country to showcase an entertainment complex that combines video games, food and a bar under one roof.
Details on how the concept will differ from other GameWorks properties, which already offer food and drinks, were not immediately available.
The deal was announced through Feldman Mall Properties Inc., which has offices in Phoenix and Great Neck, N.Y., and owns Foothills Mall.
Construction on the project, to be built on the southwest side of the mall, is expected to begin in January, and the game complex is scheduled to open by July, said Regina Harmon, general manager at Foothills Mall.
The current GameWorks is expected to remain open until Sega moves into thee new space, she said.
Sega plans to roll out the new restaurant, bar and gaming concept at future GameWorks developments nationally, the company said in a press release.
"The greatest advantage is we're going to be the first, especially for us big kids who like to play games," Harmon said.
Last year, Sega and the Sega Sammy Group bought GameWorks and formed Sega Entertainment U.S.A.
Sega Entertainment now operates 18 Gameworks locations in Tempe, Seattle, Tampa, Fla., and Mexico City, according to its company Web site.
The addition of the new GameWorks entertainment complex, along with AMC Loews' 15-screen movie theater at Foothills Mall, could mean a boost in customer traffic and sales for retailers, Harmon said.
Already, the theater gets about 20,000 people a week, Harmon said.
"We have such a mixture of Mexican nationals, senior customers, winter visitors and young families in the Northwest," Harmon said. "People will come to visit GameWorks, dine -- and tenants will benefit with more sales."
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