How Much Does it Cost to Start an Indoor Playground?

 

If you’ve ever dealt with kids, then you know they care very little about the troubles of the world. Every kid just wants a nice, warm bed, great food, and a whole lot of fun. And if you know anything about having a whole lot of fun as a kid, you already know, there is no better place for kids to have all the fun they want than playgrounds. This explains why playgrounds are always buzzing. So, starting a playground will always be a great idea.

Easy as it is looks, starting a playground is no child’s play. You’ve got to get some things right. One of the most important things you have to do is plan towards the expenses that starting an indoor playground entails.

In starting an indoor playground, the cost depends on a few things. Like, the size of the playground you’ve got in mind, the quality of the playground equipment you’ve plans to buy, the interior designs for the playground site, and a couple of other things. Why all these seem difficult, the good news is, unless you are a big business, or you have intentions to build a Neverland style playground, you don’t need millions to start up a playground. With a few thousand bucks, you are sure good to go.

In the rest of this article, we talk about indoor playgrounds and just how much money you need to start one. With specific details, we also give a clear insight into the various things you might need to spend a couple of bucks on before getting your playground started

1. Confirming the Scale of Your Indoor Playground

Starting out an indoor playground is cool. You get to experience kids at their happiest and make a lot of money (if it’s a business venture). But before you start, you’ve got to know just how big you want your playground to be. The larger the scale of the playground, the more money that will be expended in starting.

The size of the playground you’ve got in mind will also affect how big your playground project will be, and the more kids you plan for, the more preparation must be made in increasing the capacity of the playground arena to cater to the kids.

While it’s important to cater to the expected capacity of kids for your playground, making enough preparations for the expected age groups is also very important. In confirming the scale of your indoor playground, standard preparations must be made for the different age groups of kids that will utilize the arena. Children who use playgrounds vary from 6 to 23 months, 2 to 5 years, and 5 to 12 years. Getting to know the age group you intend to start the indoor playground will help plan better how best to start your indoor playground.

2. Playground Rentals

If you’ve ever been in search of a space, either for an office, or a site, or even a whole building, you must know that getting a budget-friendly space that your taste might be quite difficult, So, you’ve got to brace up for your search of the perfect playground space.

Playground warehouses are rented in square meters or foot. So, the cost of the rent will depend on the size of the arena that will house the playground. The bigger the playground, the bigger the size of the space. On average, a square foot goes for about $11/12, depending on the area. So, if you’ve got plans of renting a 2,200 sq ft workspace which is equivalent to about 200 sq m, you should be looking to spend about $25,000 per year. Working with this exact calculation, your monthly rent for space could be about $2,108. However, because site value varies, prices also vary. A square foot could also go for as high as $17 or 23$. Because space for rentals lasts for a year, in starting your indoor playground, having a $25,000 check for space rentals sounds like a good idea. Once you’ve got this out of the way, spending a few thousand bucks will help set up the playground with the other important amenities.

3. Attractions Cost

Playgrounds are fun places. So, they’ve got to look attractive and beautiful. Great aesthetics add to the value of the playground. So, you’ve just got to take your designs seriously. As with everything, great designs seem expensive. But if you consider the value, it’s sure worth it. Interior designers are responsible for this, and the price of the designs varies on factors that include the level of the playground and the elements that will eventually go into designing the equipment and playground arena.

4. Shipping Cost

Who creates an indoor playground without the necessary equipment? No one, right? So, before you get your playground up and running, you have to first get the structures in place. Labeling a space that doesn’t have regular playground bars and swings will be a funny movie since the kids can’t have fun in empty spaces.

Buying them is not the main problem, but in acquiring them, some of the structures can be very heavy, and as such, require freight services to transport them from the production company to the playground. This could be a little bit expensive, but it is essential. The weight of the play structure will, of course, influence the cost to be paid to the freight services. So, the shipping cost might vary depending on how large the products are and the number of structures that will be gotten. Shipping from the United States to countries around Europe and North and Central America varies from as low as $625 to about $1,752 for 40hq container shipping. These rates vary from cities even in countries and from different parts of the world. So, if you are looking to ship from Australia to the United Kingdom, shipping costs can be extremely high. As high as $4,518. So, in starting that indoor playground, you have to consider the expenses of shipping from other countries and delivery even from companies in your country to your doorstep or the playground arena.

These shipping costs also vary from different companies, and they change all the time depending on a lot of reasons. So, it’s very important to cross-check from time to time to avoid making budgets that will end up being below the expected market range.

5. Installation Cost

In opening an indoor playground, installing playground equipment is just as important as renting a space, or designing the space. You may ask, why? It’s because you can’t just rent out a site, buy the necessary equipment, and decide to have it uninstalled, lying wastefully on the site. Installation is always a huge part of starting a playground. In fact, in an average playground budget, installation takes about 27%. The technicians who will fix the structures will have to be paid, and their services are known to be quite a lot. This sure explains why the installation cost takes a whole lot. Most homeowners who have plans of installing a mini playground might be tempted to use the DIY approach. If you’ve got plans for that, you should have a re-think. Professionals technicians offer services that are difficult to match by everyday people, and having them install the sets will even help guarantee your kids’ safety. If you are worried about the cost, you need to think about safety first.

Moreover, the price of each service provider ranges depending on how massive the project is because it will determine the hours technicians will put in to deliver, and subsequently, the price. Installation prices range from a minimum cost of $75 to a maximum cost of about $12,000. This puts the average at about $361 to $508, once again depending on the side of the job that needs to be done. The installation will also cover the budget of the additional costs that need to be expended on the playground space, Additional costs that will include dents or structural issues with the arena intended to be used.

Installation costs will also cover miscellaneous expenses that involve the transportation of the technicians that will be involved with carrying out the structure. In situations where the technicians leave in other areas, the installation cost will cover the expenses.

In starting an indoor playground, certain costs have to be expended. These costs cut across a very wide area of needed items. If you are looking to start a playground, you surely have to get these expenses sorted.

CONCLUSION

Generally, the costs of starting an indoor playground depend on a few factors. However, the costs could largely vary from $8000 to $70,000 due to the size of the playground, especially if it’s a commercial play space. If, on the other hand, it’s private, the cost might most times be considerably low, and some of the costs factored in this article will not be necessary. Regardless, starting an indoor playground involves many times, and the cost is just a tiny part. So, with the right mindset, idea, and a couple of thousand bucks, you are sure good to go.

PLANNING

How do I start a play centre?

Dream garden  Play has assisted numerous clients over a 25 year period to establish successful leisure businesses. The fundamental difference between House of Play and other indoor play suppliers is that we don’t just supply product but we can guide you through the whole process using the leisure expertise we have gained from setting up and running Astrabound Play Centre and Go Bounce Extreme Trampoline Park, both showcase leisure parks owned and operated by House of Play.

To find out more information about starting a soft play business, visit How To Start A Soft Play Business

How much will it cost to start an indoor play centre?

As a general guide, indoor play centres will cost broadly £120,000 to set up a 5000 sq ft unit and £240,000 to set up a 10000 sq ft unit. The budget will cover all set up costs including fitting out the building including kitchen, flooring, tables and chairs and play equipment. House of Play will help you to design the optimum layout for your building and will design your play equipment to suit your building characteristics, your play preference and your play budget.

How do I write a business plan for my indoor play centre?

Dream garden playground company can assist you in writing your business plan for your indoor play centre. House of Play has written a template business plan that can be adapted to suit your business circumstances and backs that up with an interactive forecast model specifically written for starting an indoor play centre.

How do I obtain funding for my indoor play centre?

Most clients would consider Bank and Asset Finance funding streams when starting up an indoor play centre.

 

SERVICES

Where do we supply?

Dream garden supply Indoor Playgrounds, Trampoline Parks, Ninja Warrior Courses and Parkour Arenas all over the world.

Can we install?

All Indoor Playground and Trampoline Park Products are offered with an installation service, subject to appropriate transfer and subsistence arrangements being available.

What operational support can House of Play offer?

Dream garden owns and operates a showcase indoor play centre everywhere in the world as   indoor play and party centre. The operational blueprint developed by  indoor play centre, is available to Dream garden customers and we will share our best practices and documentation with you. Further, you will have access to it for real life training as and when you require.

 

PRODUCTS

What standards do your products comply to?

Indoor Playgrounds comply with British Standard BS 8409 and the internationally recognised standard EN 1176. Trampoline Parks comply with BS PAS 5000:2017 and the internationally recognised ASTM 2970-15. Dream garden customers to choose to buy our product because it is high quality, fairly priced and backed by long term reputation and high-quality service ethic.

What is the price of your equipment?

All Dream garden products are designed and manufactured in-house from the highest possible materials and using the highest quality techniques and represent very good value for money.

• Are our prices competitive with other quality product suppliers? Yes.
• Is our product quality superior to most suppliers? Yes.
• Is our product easy to maintain? Yes.

 

DESIGN

How do Dream garden design your project?

Each of our specialist designers have years of experience designing both Indoor Playgrounds and Trampoline Parks using the industy’s most cutting edge software. Customers usually provide us with dimensioned drawings and a general brief after which our designers then draft a simple block plan layout and provide a budget.

Once the layout and product mix is agreed we draft visuals in your selected colour scheme and present this with a fixed price. In order for customers to see their 2D layout/3D designs in real time we can screen share our computers with you so you can be involved in the process.

How to design a kitchen for an indoor play centre?

Dream garden can help you design a kitchen which is optimum for your indoor play centre. The kitchen layout and equipment inclusion will be determined principally by the menu offering. House of Play can bring expertise to the menu offering through hands on experience of what sells as demonstrated by its trading showcase site, Astrabound indoor play and party centre. For more details please call Dream garden on +86-13868643987.

 

SOFT PLAY EQUIPMENT

What staff levels and qualifications are needed to run an indoor play centre?

There is no prescribed ratio of staff to children required to run an indoor play centre. Accordingly, staff levels will be determined by building layout, customer service levels and fulfilling the duty of care to your customers. There are legislative requirements that certain staff must hold and to find out more, please call Dream garden on +86-13868643987 and we can share with you our staff profile for  Play Centre, the indoor play centre owned and operated by Dream garden.

How much will insurance costs be for an indoor play centre?

The broad classes of insurance required are buildings and contents, public liability and employers liability. There are 3 main insurance companies that insure indoor play centres.

What sort of venue do you need?

Both Indoor Playground and Trampoline Parks can come in a variety of sizes and ideally require a suitable open space. If there are existing rooms and mezzanines these may be able to be integrated into the wider facility dependent upon their location and size. A concrete slab floor is required and some natural light is always good.

Height is very important for both Playground and Trampoline equipment. Whilst there are no height restrictions for Indoor Playgrounds, Trampoline Parks require a minimum clear height of 5.20 metres.

Other key factors that influence scale are catchment, competition, required product mix, available capital and required income.

Why Is Soft Play Important?

Soft play equipment has a wealth of benefits for the children using the equipment and their parents. The most documented benefits of soft play equipment are that it helps to develop motor skills and enhances fundamental cognitive skills.

Children learn to move in a safe environment with a greatly mitigated risk of injury due to the softness of the equipment, overcoming small-scale problems and motor tasks. Moreover, users enhance their independent thinking, problem-solving and their cooperation with others when playing with other children.

Alongside these exceptional benefits, children and their wider families can experience lesser-known benefits of soft play equipment. It prepares them for an active lifestyle, provides family leisure time away from electronic devices and provides mental health benefits to parents and children. Any parent feeling isolated can attend soft play centres and take advantage of supervised facilities (which Play England strongly recommends), while also socialising with other parents and friends.

Last but not least, even children experience mental health benefits from soft play as it becomes a therapeutic exercise that can reduce their own stresses and anxiety. Overall, soft play equipment is important for so many reasons!

What Are the Benefits of Using Soft Play in Nurseries?

Soft play can provide lots of physical and cognitive benefits. Unfortunately, not every child has ongoing and frequent access to soft play because of their location (no commercial soft play venues nearby) or because the household cannot afford regular trips to their local soft play centre. If soft play equipment is present at the child’s nursery, it breaks down barriers of access to these fantastic play spaces, simultaneously providing children with many health and developmental benefits.

How Can Soft Play and Indoor Playgrounds Improve Childhood Learning?

Soft play centres and indoor play equipment provide mental stimulus to children. These items and obstacles present each child with a series of challenges that must be overcome with critical and creative thinking, problem-solving and physical activity. By facilitating an environment where children are present with problems in a non-threatening way, they can make attempts, learn from mistakes and success – and develop. Childhood learning is further improved by making tasks and challenges a

 

INDOOR PLAYGROUNDS

What Is an Indoor Playground?

Indoor playgrounds have been around since the 1980s. They are commercial indoor play structures that help children to stay active and develop fundamental motor skills while having fun. The indoor play equipment will include different types of challenges, such as climbing ropes, ball pools, slides, tunnels, balancing equipment and much more.

Most indoor playground structures are designed in a specific theme. For example, House of Play can create bespoke designs in the form of pirate ships, castles, army tanks, and much more. We have even recreated London with Big Ben and iconic red telephone boxes. We’ll design and manufacture any theme you desire and ensure it fits within your space seamlessly.

There are more indoor playgrounds popping up exclusively for adults. The big kids can stay fit have fun in trampoline parks, Parkour venues and virtual reality zones.

What Are the Benefits of Indoor Playgrounds?

Indoor playgrounds get children exploring and moving. They might not realise it because of all the fun, but they will be improving their cardiovascular endurance and refining key motor skills. But the benefits of indoor playgrounds aren’t just physical. Overcoming obstacles with other children will develop cognitive skills and social skills, such as teamwork and even empathy.

What Support Is Available from Dream garden playground for Your Indoor Playground?

Dream garden provides a holistic service to anyone considering an indoor playground business. We are there for you every step of the way. We’ll even be by your side as you consider different buildings, planning permission and lease negotiations. And we stick around after the indoor playground has been installed. We offer ongoing maintenance packages and detailed operational support, such as staff training. You won’t find a more comprehensive service for entrepreneurs looking to start a commercial indoor playground in the UK and other country in world.

How Can Indoor Playgrounds Decrease Childhood Obesity?

The answer to this question is two-fold. First, indoor playgrounds demand children to be active. They must take on the challenges of obstacle courses and individual pieces of equipment by running, jumping, climbing, swinging, carrying and lots more compound movements. Scientific research has found that children who enjoy playa activities like these for at least 37 minutes each day can reduce their BMI and prevent the likelihood of childhood obesity.

The second way that indoor play decreases childhood obesity is by promoting and encouraging physical activity. By showing children that moving around is fun and enjoyable encourages them to partake in other types of physical activity. This could be on the playground with friends or specific sports clubs, which further safeguards against children from health issues.

 

SENSORY EQUIPMENT

What Is Needed for a Sensory Room?

The first thing you need to create a sensory room is space. Despite what the name suggests, sensory rooms come in all sizes from small zones inside a room to full rooms. However, it is better if you can make your sensory room a separated space to avoid outside interference and noises, especially if you want to harness their therapeutic benefits.

You may require softer padding and safety equipment to ensure the wellbeing of users. This is not always necessary depending on the room and its purpose, but it is certainly necessary if some groups will be using the sensory space, such as children with Dyspraxia.

And, of course, you will need sensory equipment to create your sensory room. Sensory equipment comes in different shapes, colours and sizes (quite literally!) and there are plenty of options to choose from that can be tailored to your needs. House of Play has one of the largest selections of sensory room equipment in the UK – and we manufacture our equipment ourselves!

What Is Sensory Equipment?

Sensory equipment is a specialised type of play equipment that is incorporated into sensory rooms. The equipment is designed and manufactured with the assistance of sensory experts to ensure the equipment can promote safe sensory activation among young children and disabled groups.

But sensory equipment is a broad term and there are many categories of sensory play equipment. House of Play stocks bespoke sensory play items by category to make it easier for you to find what you need.

Below are the popular sensory play equipment categories (note, some products can overlap between two or more categories):

• Sensory lighting
• Interactive sensory equipment
• Tactile stimulation products
• Early years sensory equipment
• Audio sensory equipment
• Visual sensory products

The sensory equipment you choose should be tailored to the intended users of the sensory room. For example, if you made a sensory room primarily for therapeutic reasons, you would choose calmer lighting and less interactive products.

When sensory room equipment is put together it can create plenty of colours and shapes – but there is always a method to the madness. For help designing a sensory room with the best sensory equipment for your needs, speak with House of Play.

What Skills Does a Sensory Room Develop?

Sensory rooms have been scientifically proven to provide therapeutic benefits to users. They afford safe opportunities for children to feel confident in playing and exploring their senses. This is especially true for children with disabilities who may have experienced anxiety or even pain outside of a sensory room.

But sensory rooms can offer even more. They provide an opportunity for all children to enhance their cognitive development and specific skills.

Some sensory room equipment encourages movement from users. Products like mirrors, lighting bubble tubes, some audio sensory items and interactive panels all get children up and moving around in a safe space. This helps to develop their motor skills at an early age. Many facilities that assist children with Dyspraxia use sensory rooms for this reason. These children can learn to explore movement patterns in a calming environment that is 100% safe.

And it doesn’t end there! Using the sensory play equipment on their own can promote independent thinking, problem solving and creativity. When using the sensory room with others, it can develop their cooperation to work on tasks or play together with other children. There are so many skills that children can start to develop in a sensory room.

What Are Multi-Sensory Rooms?

Multi-sensory rooms were thought up by the Dutch in the 1970s. They were – and still are – rooms that include play equipment designed to encourage safe use of users’ senses. These spaces are typically used by children with Autism or Dyspraxia and adults who have dementia. Although any child can benefit from experiences inside a multi-sensory room.

A multi-sensory room is usually a colourful place with sensory equipment that promote activation of the senses by moving around in different ways, playing, socialising, exploring equipment, and problem-solving on their own or with others.

When a child has a sensory disability, they may find that using their senses in everyday life causes them stress and pain. The multi-sensory room helps overcome these difficulties by making sensory exploration safe, therapeutic and instilling confidence. These positive experiences can then transfer outside of the multi-sensory room for wider benefits.

You may hear other names for multi-sensory rooms, such as sensory rooms, sensory rich environments (although they are not 100% the same) and multisensory environments.

What Is a Sensory Rich Environment?

A sensory rich environment is a term used to describe any space or place that engages the senses more than usual. Some examples of sensory rich environments include a garden or flowers with strong aromas, a mirror maze at your local fairground or a firework display.

These environments include objects or events that engage our senses more than normal in everyday environments. The strong smell of the roses, the sight of funny mirrors and the sights and sounds of fireworks will all heighten the respective senses activated more than usual.

Some people use the term ‘sensory rich environment’ to describe a multi-sensory room too. The sensory room is a space where senses are purposefully heightened and can also provide a therapeutic benefit to its users.

It should be noted that all sensory rooms are fantastic for children with sensory disorders and ASD, whereas other sensory rich environments may not be. For example, a child with ASD can feel safe, comfortable and in control in a sensory room, which they might not when watching a firework display or in a mirror maze.

What Is a Multisensory Environment?

A multisensory environment is a name given to a dedicated space that activates the senses. The name is usually used interchangeably with sensory rooms or multi-sensory room. If you attend a school or care facility, you might find that the workers at the venue will call their sensory room a multisensory environment. They are almost always the same thing.

The multisensory environment will be designed and made with sensory products and sensory play equipment for children. It will provide the same benefits to its users, such as mental health benefits and cognitive development.

If you are looking for a local facility that has a sensory room and are not finding anything online, try searching for a multisensory environment instead. You may find something near you.