PARAMUS — Two new Hasbro attractions will open at Westfield Garden State Plaza later next year as the mall joins a nationwide trend to offer entertainment offerings to counter the rise of online shopping.
“It’s been a focus for us for a long time,” Dennis Marnik, senior vice president of flagship store leasing for Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, the mall’s owner. “We knew we wanted to add more experience to Garden State Plaza.”
Hasbro and Kingsmen Xperience, the US subsidiary of the Asian interactive rides firm, will open North America’s first Nerf Action Xperience location and the world’s first Planet Playskool at the mall by the end of 2023. statement last week.
Paramus is one of the best retail markets in the country, making it the perfect home for these two new experiences,” said Marnik. With an AMC high-performance cinema, the mall wanted to add family entertainment options, which led them to connect to the Kingsmen Xperience., he said.
Planet Playskool will be a 20,000-square-foot indoor entertainment center focused on children and families that will allow them to play and test different toys such as the Play-Doh from Playskool, a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc., which makes educational toys and games. .
“They have traditional brands that your grandpa or dad knows, and now your kid knows too,” Marnik said. “I look at it as a really cool family experience, not just kids.”
The 25,000 square foot Nerf Action Xperience will offer many different obstacle courses for all age groups. According to Marnik, this place will be available for birthdays, team building and other events.
The two indoor entertainment centers will be located in the former JC Penny Mall, which closed in 2018. The eastern part of the space is home to flagship stores such as Old Navy, Champs Sports, lululemon and Adidas. On the west side, near Neiman Marcus, the mall saw an opportunity for entertainment, especially with Garden State Plaza planning to add residential development.
“We’re looking at 150,000 square feet at the center of our mall,” Marnik said. “We feel like it will really reshape that part of the mall.”
The two new entertainment centers will join The Arena STEM, an existing indoor entertainment center that offers STEM events and workshops.
Stephanie Noda is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news in your local community, subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: noda@northjersey.com
Twitter: @snoda11
