Scene 75: Massive indoor entertainment center opens in Edgewood
Attention, Kmart shoppers! The Edgewood Towne Centre store is now the largest entertainment facility in Western Pennsylvania!
Scene75, which opens today inside an old Kmart store at 4 p.m., boasts 90,000 square feet of arcade games and indoor attractions for fun-loving folks of all ages. Blue Light Specials have been replaced by more than 120 arcade games, an indoor go-kart track, a two-story laser tag course, a bounce arena for kids 12 and under, 18 holes of blacklight miniature golf, a duckpin bowling alley, a virtual reality experience, spin zone bumper cars, a 4D theater, a bank-heist inspired laser maze and a prize alley.
“It’s not just a place for kids, it’s a place for everyone,” says Alex Zorniger, vice president of operations. “You could have three generations of a family here and everyone would find something to do.”
The Ohio-based company last March purchased the long-vacant big box store and pumped $10 million into the location, its fourth overall. Scene75’s home-state sites in Dayton, Cincinnati and Cleveland have, at various points since 2013, been named the #1 Entertainment Center in North America by the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions.
There is no admission fee. Visitors simply walk up to the welcome desk and put whatever amount of money they wish on a reloadable Scene75 card. Arcade game prices range from 25-cents to $2 and attractions are between $3.50 and $10 per person.
Scene75 founder and CEO Jonah Sandler was inspired by Las Vegas casinos and designed the cavernous rec room to resemble something out of Sin City. There are nods to Pittsburgh throughout the building, including photographs and a mural of the Steel Town skyline. The company employs more than 150 local workers.
A large, full-service bar with multiple televisions and seating for 70 is in the middle of the complex. A refreshment stand is set up to look like a food truck park, with three stationary vendors serving grab-and-go eats such as pizza, tacos and wings.
Scene75 is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays for full facility rentals. During regular hours of operation, party rooms are available. The venue also hosts its own events throughout the year including an indoor trick-or-treating extravaganza and photo-op breakfasts with Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny.
During Special Needs Days, individuals with physical and mental impairments (and their caregivers) get a free Scene 75 experience and the company’s Grant to Fun program provides behavioral incentives to children in area schools.
Located at 1775 S. Braddock Ave., Scene75 is open Sundays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Fridays from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Kristy Locklin is a Tribune-Review contributing writer.
