Interesting article in the Globe with a section on the Rec Room. The location in Edmonton has been exceeding expectations ([insert what-else-is-there-to-do-in-Edmonton joke here]).
Game On: Why Cineplex is betting big on eSports
Think Cineplex is all about movies? Think again. It’s rapidly becoming a diversified entertainment company, and competitive gaming is the next stop
Andrew Willis, ROB Magazine, The Globe and Mail, 28 April 2017
The section on the Rec Room:
"
Standing on a patch of sidewalk destined to be part of a 300-seat outdoor patio serving 25 brands of draft beer, the 63-year-old Jacob points to where his audience will come from. The Rogers Centre, home to baseball’s Blue Jays, is across the street. The Air Canada Centre and Bay Street’s office towers are a few blocks away, and condos soar in every direction.
Welcome to Toronto’s Rec Room. Still under construction, the former site of a Leon’s furniture outlet will be the new chain’s second location when Cineplex opens its doors this summer. “I’ve got an accounting firm and one of the law firms pushing to be the first to hold a function at Rec Room,” says Jacob, who worked as an accountant before joining a predecessor to Cineplex. “And we’re surrounded by young people with small apartments whose social life is all about gaming with friends.”
Cineplex opened its first Rec Room in Edmonton last September, hiring an executive who built the Planet Hollywood chain to run the project. The concept combines high-end food and live entertainment with the latest cutting-edge games, and a dash of retro arcade entertainment. Along with what’s billed as Canada’s largest wood-fired grill, and Italian-made pizza ovens that cook a thin-crust pie in 90 seconds, Rec Room offers private rooms and a stage for music or comedy acts.
When it comes to games, there is everything from state-of-the-art Formula One race-car simulators to axe-throwing, as well as vintage attractions such as pool tables, Ping-Pong, air hockey and pinball. The one thing that’s missing is a movie screen: Cineplex won’t show films at Rec Room.
Just the thought of flipping flippers and ringing ringers brings a smile to the face of Cineplex’s CEO as he leads a tour though the almost-complete facility. “I used to blow off steam playing a lot of pinball,” he says, recalling his days as an MBA student at York University.
Thanks to a steady stream of like-minded pinball enthusiasts and other fun-seekers, Edmonton’s Rec Room is already exceeding internal expectations, notching $2.2 million in sales during its first three-and-a-half months in business. On Alberta’s coldest winter nights, patrons line up to get in. Cine-plex plans to spend up to $150 million launching 15 locations over the next five years, with a second facility planned for Edmonton and sites already chosen in Toronto, Calgary and London, Ontario.
Based on results at rivals such as the Dave & Buster’s restaurant chain, where sales are growing at a 16% annual clip, analysts project a return of 25% a year; three years out, Rec Room is expected to generate $110 million in revenues, which translates into $27 million in bottom-line profit.
While that would make a significant contribution to Cineplex’s financial results, the bigger prize could be eSports, where Jacob and his team are among the first major entertainment companies to invest in a sector that looks like it’s about to ignite"
