Transcript Staff
The Norman Transcript
NORMAN — HeyDay Entertainment, in north Norman, is banking on the hope that thrill-seekers in the metro will be enticed by the opportunity to dangle from its new ropes course, which is suspended 19 feet in the air over the facility’s acrade area.
The entertainment center recently raised the fixtures in its ceiling and constructed the first indoor ropes course of its kind in the state. The ropes course is suspended over the 2,500 square foot arcade area that also serves as a lobby for a multi-level laser tag arena.
“Participants spend 15 minutes navigating the ropes and scale different elements from rope hoops to a rope wall while on the course,” said Brian Burks, entertainment manager for the facility.
According to Burks, in the first two days the course was open about 300 people took on the course and groups are already scheduling time on the ropes.
Sixth-graders from Alcott Middle School in Norman spent a day at HeyDay and were among the first to try the ropes course experience.
Brad Little, HeyDay general manager and co-owner, is afraid of heights, but the ropes course has changed his mind.
“Once you get up there and realize that there is no way you can fall, you can really start to have fun with it,” he said.
To use the course and ensure safety, each participant is hooked into a safety system that includes a full body harness with a lanyard attached. The proprietary lanyard slides into the continuous belay tracking system and participants cannot unhook themselves from the system until they are back on the ground. The technology used in the course is part of a custom design created by Ropes Courses Inc. in Allegan, Mich.
Staff from Ropes Courses Inc. was on hand to assist in the construction of the course, a process that took about five days.
In addition to the the ropes course, the entertainment center also has laser tag, mini golf, child and adult birthday parties, lock-in and corporate team-building packages and is also available for individual and family use during regular business hours.
Reservations for the ropes course and laser tag are recommended. More information about what to expect on the ropes course and about HeyDay Entertainment can be found at www.HeyDayFamilyFun.com.
