This old Miami mall is getting a modern mega entertainment center. Here’s a peek inside

Sometimes you spend hours at the mall and get home without any purchases. And mall owners are perfectly happy to see you leave empty-handed.

That’s because you likely dropped dime on-site and are lighter of pocket as you engaged in retailtainment.

“Retailtainment” is a term coined in the shopping mall industry to describe the trend of combining entertainment “lifestyle” venues like contemporary arcades that include the latest video games, bowling alleys, racing tracks and dining areas or mega fitness centers that resemble resorts and placing them alongside traditional mall stores.

Miami International Mall, a nearly 42-year-old, 1.1 million-square-foot shopping center in Doral, seizes that growing market with the addition of Elev8 Fun. When the community hub is completed in early 2025, says mall management team Simon Property Group, Elev8 Fun will fill 110,000 square feet with more than 100 arcade games, 12 bowling lanes, a go-kart track, mini-golf, a fitness center and full-service restaurant.

Elev8 Fun takes over space that once operated as a Kohl’s department store. Simon did not give an exact opening date.

Elev8 Fun owner David Goldfarb, who also owns Xtreme Action Park in Fort Lauderdale, told the Miami Herald he chose the western Miami mall for its high traffic location, its tenant mix and its familiar face in the neighborhood. The mall has been on Northwest 107th Avenue since 1982.

“The Miami International Mall has been a legacy shopping mall-destination for decades in the western Miami community and continues to serve as a major shopping hub for the growing trade area,” he said. “The consumer spending trends and demographics are conducive to a family entertainment center.”

Miami area mall entertainment centers

Simon’s pursuit of Elev8 follows other South Florida malls’ additions over the last five years. These include the 93-foot glass and steel “Aventura Slide Tower” designed by German sculptor Carsten Höller that opened at Aventura Mall in 2019.

Vivo!, a 62,000 square foot entertainment complex at The Dolphin Mall, opened in June 2023. There, you’ll find sports and high-end bars with bottle service, a concert and show space, a PBR Cowboy Bar — that stands for Professional Bull Riders but will welcome urban cowboys, too — and a Sergio’s serving up Cuban bites.

There’s also last year’s “retailtainment” additions to Kendall malls The Falls and Palms at Town & Country.

The Falls saw the addition of Life Time last August where a former Bloomingdale’s shuttered. The three-story country club-like Life Time spa has members who pay almost $280 a month to swim laps in a saltwater pool, play pickleball, get skin or nail treatments, hang at a beach club and dine at a cafe. They can also do old-fashioned things like take exercise classes or pump iron.

Arcade Time Entertainment, a play area with arcade games, virtual reality and motion simulation rides and in-house dining area, was fully opened in December at The Falls in the space of a former American Girl store.

And EōS Fitness opened last year where a 24-Hour Fitness once operated at the Palms at Town & Country. The newcomer is open 24 hours and lures customers with fitness classes, lap swimming, saunas and weights.

What these malls are seeing is opportunity to boost foot traffic and keep customers around for hours.

READ MORE: Will you spend more time and money at the store? What Miami shoppers will see in 2024

A growing trend

The global family indoor entertainment centers industry that designs and places venues like Life Time, Elev8 Fun and Arcade Time Entertainment into malls like Miami International generated $30.9 billion nationally in 2022, and is anticipated to generate $88.7 billion by 2032, according to a June 2023 report by Allied Market Research.

Some of the drivers for indoor entertainment center venues at malls are a young demographic, and a “surge in demand for unique experiences,” according to researchers. Taking on Spider-Man in a video game mega machine that is nearly as large as a New York street corner at Elev8 Fun and Arcade Time may qualify as more “unique” than watching the web-slinger swing by on a movie screen at a traditional mall multiplex.

Maria Prado, general manager for Miami International Mall, is eager to tap into the trend.

“Shopping centers have consistently prioritized entertainment as a focal point,” she said. “This not only attracts people to the property but also creates an opportunity for them to shop and dine during their visit. Moreover, entertainment extends the duration of the shopping center patrons’ stay by offering experiences in the evening when retail establishments are closed. This aspect also serves as an appealing amenity for hotels, residential areas, and offices either on the property or in close proximity, positioning the shopping center as the central hub of the community that caters to a diverse range of individuals.”

You’re already spending more time at the mall than most of the traditional store managers. You say the mall closes at 9 p.m.? Tell that to the teens slamming tokens into the “Marvel Spider-Man” machine or “The Walking Dead AMC” booth at Arcade Time until midnight on weeknights and 2 a.m. on weekends.

The Falls and Palms are open-air malls so they can easily accommodate entertainment centers that need to entertain customers after midnight and hours after Macy’s and Aeropostale close. But this won’t be a problem for Elev8 Fun at the enclosed Miami International Mall, Prado says.

Elev8 Fun has an exterior entrance.

What will you see inside Elev8?

The coming Elev8 Fun will be Goldfarb’s second in Florida when it opens in 2025. There’s an Elev8 at the Treasure Coast Mall in Jensen Beach in Martin County.

Here’s some of what you will see at the new entertainment center.

▪ Over 100 arcade games.

▪ 12 bowling lanes.

▪ Go-Kart track.

▪ Interactive mini-golf experience.

▪ Laser tag battles for groups and individuals.

▪ Elev8 Sportz. When a company gets fancy with the spelling you can assume this is a “new concept.” What we know so far is this play area will be focused on “fun and fitness,” according to Simon.

▪ Full-service restaurant and bar with wall-to wall sports viewing — including every major sports league in the U.S., Simon says.

▪ Private and corporate party rooms.