Franchise Deep Dive: Urban Air Adventure Park Franchise Costs, Fees, Profit and Data

REPORTED COST TO GET IN: $3,380,908 to $5,684,158

REPORTED ROI (Item 19): $2,848,839 Average Gross Sales and 28% Average EBITDA

From laser tag to mini-golf, skydiving to go-karts, Urban Air Adventure Park offers endless fun for kids of all ages. Though attractions vary from one park to the next, every park provides a safe and fun environment where kids can “be active, connect socially and feel special.”

Today, Urban Air has more than 315 parks open or in the pipeline. Urban Air has ranked #1 in the Adventure Park/Entertainment category on Entrepreneur magazine’s Franchise 500 for five consecutive years.

Company history

The brand started when founder Michael Browning Jr. recognized the need for a place that helps kids celebrate, escape and have fun. He opened the first Urban Air Adventure Park in his hometown of Southlake, Texas in 2011.

Due to demand, Browning opened a second Urban Air in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. After meeting with Jay Thomas, who was the vice president of international park development for Six Flags at the time (and is now the CEO of Urban Air), Browning refined the concept for Urban Air. The park expanded its activities to include bowling, ropes courses, climbing walls, indoor coasters, skydiving and go-karting.

He quickly realized he was onto something and began franchising the Urban Air experience in 2014 so that communities around the world could offer families innovative indoor amusement parks.

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, Urban Air didn’t hunker down; it expanded its portfolio with infant and child gym brand The Little Gym and kids' martial-arts brand Premier Martial Arts. The founders set up the new company Unleashed Brands to act as the umbrella organization. Unleashed Brands has also acquired Snapology, the premier franchise brand offering STEAM programs for kids.

Growth and revenue

In mid-January 2022, Urban Air Adventure Park stated that it had a record-breaking year with 63 franchise agreements signed and three new parks opened in 2021. The company posted nearly $440 million in systemwide revenue, representing more than $2.8 million per park, fueled by families looking to reconnect and celebrate special occasions with others after a year of social distancing and isolation during the pandemic.

Driving a significant portion of that success were nearly 225,000 birthday parties booked at Urban Air parks, generating nearly $90 million, an all-time high for that revenue stream.

Urban Air Adventure Park offers two business models: 2.0 Park and 2.5 Park

• “2.0 Park” or “Adventure Park” includes the following grouping of attractions: Action Cam, Sky Rider, ropes course, soft play, Adventure Hub, dodgeball course, trampolines, battle beam, basketball goals, Wipeout, warrior course, climbing walls, stairway to heaven, leap of faith, pro zone, runway trampoline and dropzone (airbag). Urban Air’s minimum franchise offering is a 2.0 Park.

• “2.5 Park” includes additional, optional attractions such as spin zone (bumper cars), virtual reality, bowling, laser tag, go-karts and indoor skydiving may be developed by franchisees with eligible sites.

Annual Gross Sales of Franchised 2.0 and 2.5 Parks Open the Entire 2021 Fiscal Year:

• Average Gross Sales* 2.0 Parks: $2,848,839

• Average Gross Sales* 2.5 Parks: $4,046,695

• Maximum Gross Sale* 2.0 Park: $9,492,837

• Maximum Gross Sale* 2.5 Park: $6,623,420

*All financial information presented is for information purposes only and subject to the Urban Air Adventure Parks 2022 franchise disclosure document (the “FDD”). Please refer to Item 19 of the FDD for a complete financial performance representation. This information is not intended as an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy, a franchise.

Gross Sales,” as used in the FDD, means the dollar aggregate of: (1) the sales price of all products, services, memberships, food, beverages, merchandise and other items sold, and the charges for all services you perform, whether made for cash, on credit or otherwise, without reserve or deduction for inability or failure to collect, including sales and services (A) originating at the franchised business premises even if delivery or performance is made offsite from the franchised business premises (including without limitation sales for access to Attractions within your Adventure after school programs, camps and other services offered to guests of the Adventure Park, food and beverage sales, retail sales and membership fees), (B) placed by mail, facsimile, telephone, the internet and similar means if received or filled at or from the franchised business premises, and (C) that you in the normal and customary course of your operations would credit or attribute to the operation of the franchised business; and (2) all monies, trade value or other things of value that you receive from franchised business operations at, in, or from the franchised business premises that are not expressly excluded from Gross Sales.

Gross Sales does not include: (1) the exchange of merchandise between franchised businesses (if you operate multiple franchises) if the exchanges are made solely for the convenient operation of your business and not for the purpose of depriving us of the benefit of a sale that otherwise would have been made at, in, on or from the franchised business premises; (2) returns to shippers, vendors, or manufacturers; (3) sales of fixtures or furniture (excluding the Attractions) after being used in the conduct of the franchised business; (4) the sale of gift certificates, stored value cards and loyalty program benefits (the redemption value will be included in Gross Sales at the time of redemption); (5) insurance proceeds; (6) sales to employees at a discount (provided such discounts will not exceed 1.5% of Gross Sales during any reporting period); (7) cash or credit refunds for transactions included within Gross Sales (limited, however, to the selling price of merchandise returned by the purchaser and accepted by you); (8) the amount of any city, county, state or federal sales, luxury or excise tax on such sales that is both (A) added to the selling price or absorbed therein and (B) paid to the taxing authority; and (9) tips and gratuities. Gross Sales figures do not reflect the cost of sales, operating expenses, rent/real estate or other costs or expenses that must be deducted from the Gross Sales figures to obtain your net income or profit.

Franchise costs and fees

Based on Urban Air’s 2021 Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) item 7, the typical initial investment for a new Urban Air Adventure Park ranges from from $2,771,750 to $4,332,280 (Park 2.0) and $4,384,000 to $5,935,655 (Park 2.5).

1. Initial Franchise Fee: $75,000 to $100,000

2. Security Deposits for Commercial Lease: $20,000 to $60,000

3. Other Security Deposits: $2,500 to $10,000

4. Business License/Government Approval: $300 to $1,500

5. Leasehold Improvements: $1,350,000 to $2,387,500

6. Audio-Visual (Equipment and Installation): $125,000 to $175,000

7. Architectural Plans: $70,000 to $89,000

8. Café Equipment and Café Furniture: $120,000 to $150,000

9. Smallwares: $8,000 to $10,000

10. Exterior Signage: $7,500 to $34,000

11. Interior Signage and Rules: $5,750 to $19,000

12. Furniture, Fixtures, and Equipment: $60,000 to $69,000

13. Point-of-Sale and Computer Systems: $7,558

14. Base Attraction Equipment 2.0 Package: $1,326,000 to $1,391,000

15. Optional 2.0 Attraction Equipment Upgrade Package: $0 to $800,000

16. Professional Fees: $4,000 to $10,000

17. Travel and Living Expenses: $1,500 to $7,500

18. Initial Inventory (Merchandise): $20,700

19. Initial Inventory (Food): $14,500 to $18,900

20. Pre-Opening Wages: $7,000 to $20,000

21. Insurance: $5,000 to $10,000

22. Third-Party Inspection Fees: $600 to $3,50023

23. Grand Opening Advertising: $30,000 to $50,000

24. Working Capital: $120,000 to $240,000

Total: $3,380,908 to $5,684,158

• Initial Franchise Fee: $75,000 to $100,000

• Royalty Fee: 7%

• Advertising Requirement: 5%

• Liquid Requirements: $750,000

• Michael Browning Jr. Founder.

• Jay Thomas. CEO and Brand President.

• Tim Sharp. SVP Operations.

• Jeremy Hoyum. SVP Park Performance.

• Danny Boruff. SVP Supply Chain.

• Abby Crowley. VP Park Development.

• James Franks. VP Franchise Recruitment.

• Tim Massey. VP Finance.

• Douglas Kwong. VP of Marketing.

• I opened a trampoline park 10 years ago and grew it to 1,300 franchises and $800 million a year in revenue — here's how

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