Childrens’ adventure playground open for exploration

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This article was published 10/09/2013 (4599 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg kids are in for a big adventure at a new facility built just for them.

“Great Big Adventure is a children’s entertainment centre,” said Jarret Hannah, vice president of operations at Great Big Adventure (GBA). “It’s indoor, it’s the newest and largest indoor play facility in Winnipeg.”

Located at 960 Lorimer Blvd., GBA is the brainchild of Winnipeg’s Alexander Steen, who currently plays for the St. Louis Blues.

“It’s fantastic to finally be able to come back to Winnipeg to see the completion of Great Big Adventure,” said Steen in a release. “This is a great facility that I know will benefit many Winnipeggers.”

Targeted for kids aged five and under, GBA offers many day and night activities for kids as well as a café with local baked goods from Stella’s Café & Bakery for parents.

The centre is 12,000 square feet with a 3,000-square-foot indoor play structure, which features a hockey mini-sticks area and toddler section. 

“We like to promote a healthy lifestyle,” said Hannah. “So within our area here there is a lot of area for kids to run around so parents really appreciate that there’s room just to roam freely, where in other places you won’t find that.”

Hannah said there will also be some seminars on healthy eating and lifestyles.

“Fitness is going to be a big part of what we do,” said Hannah. “The vision from Alex Steen, who’s a professional athlete, is it’s very, very important to him to have fitness and health be an option here.”

Hannah said Steen, who spends his off-season in Sweden with his two sons, has seen centres like this in Europe but they aren’t as popular in Canada.

“Being from Winnipeg with our climate he thought this could be very successful and much needed as an attraction in the city,” said Hannah. “So he wanted to select Winnipeg as the first location, and upon our success (he plans) on expanding the business model not only in Manitoba but beyond.”

Hannah would tell parents that they wanted to make GBA as comfortable for them as it is for their children.

“That’s the main distinction here,” said Hannah. “The kids are going to love it, but the parents are going to equally love it because we have a lot of relaxing environments for them to just watch their children play.”

GBA opened on Aug. 26 and had a grand opening on Sept. 6, where Steen was present to sign autographs and meet the public.