$1.2 million trampoline and 'ninja challenge' park coming to Clarksville

Xtremenasium will occupy a 20,000-square foot building between the existing Big Lots and Office Depot stores at 706 E. Lewis and Clark Parkway. Owner Kenny Schell hopes to have the vacant space renovated and opened before the end of November.

Schell is no stranger to the “adrenaline-based” activity scene. He owns Asylum Xtreme and Xtreme Ink and Piercing in Clarksville, as well as Xtreme Laser Combat Arena and Paintball Aslyum in Louisville. 

After 13 years in Indiana, Schell’s latest project, Xtremenasium, will have an open-concept. Every activity will be viewable from the other, said Schell, and he has a lot of them planned for Xtremenasium.

“You’re not going to be bored in the first hour of staying there,” he said.

The entertainment park will feature a trampoline area just for jumping, as well as trampolines for dodgeball and basketball. Another prominent activity, a ninja obstacle course, will resemble the one on “American Ninja Warrior” and feature three sections of challenges. Xtremenasium will also include a bouldering wall and “battle beam” where opponents can try and keep their balance while jousting each other. (Foam pits will make the inevitable falls more comfortable). A “face-off” activity where harnessed competitors can race each other up a wall will also be available.

All activities will be open to the public for a $13 an hour base rate, with some recurrent specials. Party rooms will also be available to rent out for birthdays, corporate gatherings and other events.

Xtremenasium will bring a type of business to Southern Indiana that’s not as common in the area as it is in Louisville.

Clarksville Strike & Spare, a family fun center with bowling, laser tag and more opened on Eastern Boulevard in Clarksville earlier this year, but most trampoline parks and similar facilities are a bridge crossing away.

“Those uses aren’t represented well in our market today,” said Dylan Fisher, Clarksville’s director of redevelopment.

Schell noticed the same thing, and it’s part of the reason he’s opening Xtremenasium.

“I just think it would be a great asset to not only our business model, but the community here,” he said.

The town has shown support for his idea. On Tuesday, the town council approved a $62,000 five-year, forgivable loan, for Xtremenasium — the only public funding the entertainment park is receiving. The loan, made available through the use of Economic Development Income Tax Bonds and Bond Anticipation Notes, was granted based on the jobs the park will bring to the town and on the condition that it stays in operation, said Fisher.

Xtremenasium will employ approximately 25 people, including full-time, managerial staff and part-time employees. Twenty-percent of the loan amount is forgiven each year for five years that the park meets the town’s requirements.

Xtremenasium will benefit the town by turning a space typically used for storage reasons into a commercial venture, as well as by bringing more traffic to the retail center its located in, Fisher said.