Next Gen Playground on the Horizon
- Squarena
- 1 day ago
- 6 min read
What the 2026 Numbers Show
Indoor entertainment industry growth is accelerating in 2026. JLL's 2026 entertainment tenant study tracks 207 concepts operating 4,746 locations across the United States and Canada, with another 721 locations planned or announced, representing 16.5 million square feet of new space. Foot traffic across 20 tracked entertainment concepts reached 217 million visits in 2025, roughly 12 percent above 2019 levels.
That is the short version. Below is what the numbers actually mean for families, corporate planners, and anyone thinking about opening a venue.
How fast is the indoor entertainment industry growing in 2026?
The clearest measure is space under construction. JLL's May 2026 study counts 721 announced locations representing 16.5 million square feet of demand across the U.S. and Canada.
Visit behavior is growing too. Average dwell time across tracked concepts is 140 minutes per visit. People are not dropping in for twenty minutes. They are treating indoor entertainment venues as the whole afternoon.
Spending data supports it. U.S. Census Bureau figures cited by JLL show performing arts spending up 11.3 percent from 2024 to 2025, food and beverage up 5.6 percent, and spectator sports up 3.5 percent.
Key takeaway: the growth is showing up in three places at once, in new square footage, in visit counts, and in time spent per visit.
How big is the indoor entertainment market?
Estimates vary widely depending on what each firm counts. Here is the honest picture as of mid-2026:
Research firm | Category measured | 2025–2026 value | Forecast |
Mordor Intelligence (June 2026) | Global family entertainment centers | $32.62B (2025) | $47.93B by 2031, 6.75% CAGR |
The Business Research Company (2026) | Global family/indoor entertainment centers | $39.97B (2025) | $76.68B by 2030, 13.9% CAGR |
Grand View Research (June 2026) | Global location-based entertainment | $7.4B (2025) | $49.2B by 2033, 26.2% CAGR |
Allied Market Research | Global family/indoor entertainment centers | $30.8B (2022) | $108.4B by 2033, 12.1% CAGR |
Why the market-size numbers disagree
These are not four measurements of the same thing. Grand View's location-based entertainment figure centers on immersive and VR-driven formats, which is why the base is small and the growth rate is high. The family entertainment center figures include bowling alleys, arcades, and trampoline parks, which is a far larger and slower-moving base.
Treat any single market-size headline with caution. The operating data, meaning locations, square footage, and visits, is more reliable than the dollar forecasts, because it is counted rather than modeled.
North America is the largest regional market either way. Grand View Research puts North America at 39.3 percent of the global indoor amusement center market in 2025.
Why are indoor recreation venues expanding so quickly?
The price gap against destination travel
JLL frames the shift with a direct comparison. A budget-conscious family of four spends about $2,783 on three days at Disney World before airfare or a rental car, per an April 2026 NerdWallet analysis. For roughly $35 per person, the same family gets an afternoon at a local indoor entertainment venue.
Families have not stopped wanting shared experiences. They are buying them closer to home.
Empty big-box space
Vacant anchors have become entertainment flagships. Level99 has converted former Sears and JCPenney boxes into 40,000 to 45,000 square foot venues. Netflix House opened 100,000 square feet in a former Lord & Taylor at King of Prussia Mall and 110,000 square feet in a former Belk at Galleria Dallas in late 2025.
The old assumption that malls are dying does not hold up against the leasing data. Power centers and lifestyle centers roughly doubled their share of entertainment move-ins between 2019 and 2025, while total mall share held essentially flat.
Dwell time and repeat visits
A 140-minute average visit changes the economics. Longer visits support food and beverage revenue, and scored, competitive formats give people a reason to come back and beat their number.
That repeat-visit design is spreading. Escape and challenge rooms posted the highest growth rate in JLL's database, up 247 percent in existing locations since 2023 to reach 430 sites. The newer challenge-room format offers 25 or more short scored games tracked by RFID wristbands, specifically so players return to improve their scores.
Parties and corporate bookings
Birthday parties and corporate events give indoor venues something most retail does not have: bookable, high-margin revenue that is planned in advance. Trampoline parks and kid zones built recurring revenue engines on exactly this. Kids bring friends back for celebrations.
Squarena runs the same playbook, with birthday parties for 10 to 30 kids and corporate team-building events anchoring the calendar alongside walk-ins.
Which indoor entertainment categories are growing fastest?
From JLL's 2026 tenant study:
Category | Existing locations | Pipeline | Note |
Trampoline parks and kid zones | 1,355 | 355 | 61% of all planned square footage, about 10M sq ft |
Family entertainment centers | 1,717 across 43 concepts | 91 | Largest footprint at roughly 40M sq ft, but growth flattened to 10.6% since 2023 |
Escape and challenge rooms | 430 | Not stated | Fastest growth rate, up 247% since 2023 |
Competitive socializing | Not stated | Not stated | Concentrated in central business districts, Class A malls, lifestyle centers |
The pattern is clear. Kid-focused active play is taking the most new square footage. Traditional family entertainment centers are consolidating rather than expanding. Newer scored, tech-driven formats are growing the fastest from a smaller base.
What does the growth mean for someone opening a venue?
Five things the 2026 data points to:
Active, scored formats outperform passive ones. The fastest-growing categories all track performance and invite a rematch.
Footprint follows format. Trampoline and kid-zone boxes run 20,000 to 60,000 square feet. Competitive socializing venues run smaller and lean urban.
Group bookings are the margin. Birthday parties and corporate events stabilize a calendar that would otherwise swing with weather and school breaks.
Real estate is available and negotiable. Former anchors, theaters, and department stores are actively converting to entertainment uses.
Capital intensity is the main risk. Build-out, technology, and premium rent make these expensive to open and expensive to get wrong.
Operators evaluating the category can review Squarena franchise opportunities for how an LED tile format compares on footprint and build cost.
Where does Squarena fit in the indoor entertainment market?
Squarena is an LED tile gaming venue. The floor is the game. Players run, dodge, react, and score on interactive LED tiles that track every move, which puts Squarena in the scored, active, repeat-visit category that JLL's data shows growing fastest.
Squarena operates LED tile gaming venues in Times Square and Solana Beach, in Midtown Manhattan and San Diego County, with additional locations opening through franchising. Both markets sit where the data says demand concentrates: a high-traffic urban core, and a coastal community with year-round family and corporate demand.
The format serves all four of the revenue streams driving category growth, meaning walk-ins, advance bookings, birthday parties, and corporate team-building events.
What could slow indoor entertainment industry growth?
Three honest risks:
Discretionary spending is fragile. The same price pressure pushing families away from theme parks can eventually reach the $35 local outing. Barclays reported in June 2026 that 45 percent of surveyed consumers were cutting discretionary spending, even as demand for experiences held up.
Competition is intensifying. With 721 locations in the pipeline, some markets will get crowded. Concepts without a real differentiator will feel it first.
Build costs are high. Technology-driven venues carry heavy upfront capital and ongoing maintenance. Uptime is not optional when the technology is the product.
None of these have reversed the trend so far. All three are worth watching.
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Ready to see LED tile gaming for yourself? Book a session at Squarena in Times Square or Solana Beach.
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Frequently asked questions
How fast is the indoor entertainment industry growing in 2026?
JLL's 2026 entertainment tenant study tracks 721 planned or announced locations across the U.S. and Canada, representing 16.5 million square feet. Foot traffic across 20 tracked concepts reached 217 million visits in 2025, about 12 percent above 2019 levels.
How big is the global family entertainment center market?
Estimates range from about $32.6 billion (Mordor Intelligence, 2025) to about $40 billion (The Business Research Company, 2025), depending on which venue types are counted. Forecasts run from roughly $48 billion by 2031 to $77 billion by 2030.
Which indoor entertainment category is growing fastest?
Escape and challenge rooms posted the highest growth rate in JLL's 2026 study, up 247 percent in existing locations since 2023 to 430 sites. Trampoline parks and kid zones account for the most new square footage, at 61 percent of the announced pipeline.
Why are indoor entertainment venues opening in malls?
Vacant department stores and theaters offer large, high-ceiling spaces at negotiable rents. JLL found that power centers and lifestyle centers roughly doubled their share of entertainment move-ins between 2019 and 2025, while total mall share held flat.
How long do people spend at an indoor entertainment venue?
Average dwell time is 140 minutes per visit across the concepts JLL tracks.
Where can I try LED tile gaming?
Squarena operates LED tile gaming venues in Times Square in Midtown Manhattan and in Solana Beach in San Diego County, with more locations opening through franchising.
Sources
JLL, Game on! Location-based entertainment's 16.5 million square-foot pipeline, 19 May 2026
Mordor Intelligence, Family Entertainment Center Market Report, June 2026
Grand View Research, Location-Based Entertainment Market, June 2026
Grand View Research, Indoor Amusement Center Market
The Business Research Company, Family/Indoor Entertainment Centers Market Report 2026
Barclays, Hospitality and leisure sector boosts investment in the experience economy, 4 June 2026