LAKELAND – Family fun is going ballistic.
At the new Dart World Gaming Arena, owner Luis Lopez Jr. is booking brick-and-mortar events for family fun nights, birthdays and special occasions, as well as company get-togethers for people interested in Nerf dart battles and virtual reality gaming.
“The indoor Nerf arena is a place to come for kids and parents – and parents don’t have to worry about picking up darts,” Lopez said.
The space opening Tuesday at 201 E. Main St. in Lakeland will also host practices and tournaments for Central Florida Nerf war games, which have sprung up as enthusiasm for Nerf guns has grown.
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Among the groups are the National Nerf Association which has teams in Orlando, Tampa and Miami.
“They are actually trying to book times for practice,” Lopez said.
The Dart Arena is located in the 35,000-square-foot former RP Funding offices, a historic landmark in Lakeland. The interior was divided into two separate arenas for play among poles and netting. There are also virtual reality rooms featuring Oculus Quest.
For now, Lopez’s family will work in the business, but he hopes to employ five to six people eventually. Food and snacks are available and a snack bar with outdoor seating may come down the road.
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Lopez started the company as a mobile service delivering pop up Nerf battles in backyards and other spaces. He has inflatable obstacles for taking cover from a barrage of the soft darts and a complete rack of Nerf guns at the arena to lock, load and fire.
One such pop up event was in Paws and Pints festival in Port Canaveral and another at an Apopka birthday party that hosted a 12-on-12 Nerf battle.
Lopez, who also works as a program manager for Amazon, is originally from New York and has lived in Lakeland since he was 12.
According to a history of Nerf guns on the toy makers website, the first Nerf blaster to use a form of dart was the Sharpshooter released in 1992.
“It proved to be incredibly popular and began Nerf’s production of dart blasters,” the website said.
Originally, the Nerf darts had small fins on its ends and were called, Mega Darts. The dart size has become smaller, which are now called Micro Darts and are the most well-known of the sponge-like ammunition.
Some Nerf darts had suction cups but usually today they are made soft-tipped. By 2012, the darts had been upgraded in order to fit most models of the Hasbro manufactured Nerf blasters.
And the blasters have evolved too, from single shot pistol-like versions to simulated riffles with magazines holding multiple darts. In January, Nerf announced on its Facebook page that fans of the pastime can order a limited-edition Star Wars Boba Fett’s EE-3 Blaster.
Similar co-branded blasters, including bow-and-arrow type blasters, were issued for Fortnite fans. In December, Nerf announced the company was beta testing virtual reality competitions for teams wanting to play in cyberspace.
Weekday admission to the Dart World Gaming Arena starts at $8 for 30 minutes. On weekends, the unlimited play pass costs $18. Lopez offers $1 off admission for players who bring their own Nerf gun, and upgrades for enhanced Nerf guns are available.
