In my area, although the weather is generally good, there are lots of indoor recreation businesses: indoor tennis, bowling, indoor bocce, billiards, ice skating, roller skating, indoor soccer, batting cages, basketball, and so on. One thing they all have in common is that they are empty for more than half of any 24-hour day.
So here’s my challenge question of the day. What indoor recreational business has the highest profit per square foot of real estate?
You are allowed to invent your own type of business to answer this question. For example, I have always wanted to start a business I call the Ping Pong Palace, or something similar. It would feature a “center court” ping pong area where exhibitions and league matches would be played. Around the perimeter, in two stories, would be a number of other ping pong areas, perhaps with glass walls, that could be rented for leagues, parties, and family outings. I’d make sure everyone could see everyone else. And I would pipe in music, sell refreshments, and make it a happening place. Everyone can play ping pong, even if poorly. And the maintenance of the place would be trivial.
I think that even people who have their own ping pong tables would play at the Ping Pong Palace because they would be tired of poor lighting, and chasing ping pong balls around the garage and behind the lawnmower. And it would be the best place for league play.
I also envision a sport I call Bumper Soccer. It’s based on the most fun I ever had while participating in something resembling a sport. When I was an undergrad at Hartwick College, in Oneonta NY, we played soccer year round. In the winter, we played in the gym. And when the gym was taken, we sometimes found the door unlocked to a small exercise room with a low ceiling, a number of padded support columns, and a rubbery floor. We used it, quite illegally, for soccer. It was ridiculous fun, because the walls and columns added a dimension to the game. To beat a player, you could do a give-and-go off the wall or a column. And because the space was small, you were always near the action. A few times we played with more than one ball at the same time. It was frantic and amazing and great exercise. You ended up laughing the entire time. And the small space and columns were a great equalizer for different levels of skill. Speed and height didn’t count for much in there. We usually played coed.
Best yet, from a business perspective, it packed a lot of people into a small space. I often wonder what I would pay per hour to reproduce that experience, and it’s a lot.
What’s your best idea for indoor recreation that does not involve sex?