Following months of waiting, families can flock to Flying Squirrel in Chatham starting Saturday.
The indoor trampoline and fun centre, in the works since 2023, will open its doors to the public at 10 a.m. at 730 Richmond St.
The facility offers 46,000 square feet of activities, ranging from trampolines to climbing walls, to a crochet net area, arcade, food court and more.
Luke Schueler, co-founder and chief operating officer of Flying Squirrel, said he and his brother, Cody, have 22 Flying Squirrel locations in Canada, the U.S., as well as in South America.
Coming to Chatham was a no brainer once they were connected to local businessman Don Tetrault. He had the right property, and Chatham-Kent has the thirst for family fun.
“We got in contact with Don. It was a perfect location,” Shueler said. “There are also no healthy active fun options around here. This is great for kids and families to have. They get a break from video games.”
Setting up shop was a time-consuming endeavour. The entire layout is on the same level, even the trampoline area. That meant digging down three feet to allow for the installation of the shock absorption system.
“In order to add the trampoline park section, we had to build onto the building and drop the floors about three-foot-two-inches. So that way it’s a seamless walk through to the next section,” Shueler said. “That took quite a bit of time.”
He thinks users will see it was worth the wait.
“All the attractions are one of a kind. Everything that we do for the trampoline side, we manufacture ourselves and install ourselves. We have 11 patents on that equipment,” he said.
With safety in mind, Flying Squirrel has foam padding under the trampolines, and below that, there are the shock absorbers.
“Every trampoline out there has our patented shock-absorbing German system. When you land on that pad here, we have two inches of really high quality foam and it also has the ability to drop four inches with the shock absorbers,” Shueler said.
That system is also in place under the basketball nets where users can dunk.
“They’re built for hard slams. You can get that real dunk in,” Shueler said.
The overall environment screams high energy. Schueler said they love bright colours.
“Our goal is for the families to come in here and for the kids to feel really active,” he said.
Shueler said while there are plenty of activity options for the kids, parents have not been ignored. There are couches, massage chairs, a lounge area for recharging – for both one’s personal devices and one’s own inner batteries – and more.
He added Flying Squirrels are excellent party spots for families.
“Parents can sit down and relax. We take care of the service, we take care of the kids, we have dedicated party hosts, we supply the food and have a dedicated party area,” he said.
A prime focus of Flying Squirrel staff will be on maintaining a clean environment. Schueler said the facilities are cleaned morning and night, with everything wiped down with antiviral products.
“You don’t have to worry about your kids coming in here and rolling around or climbing and touching dirty surfaces. That won’t happen,” he said.
Nearly 70 employees have been hired to work at the Chatham location.
Tickets can be purchased online and when you enter the facility.
For hours and more information, visit https://flyingsquirrelsports.ca/chatham-ontario/
