Main Event Entertainment is an American chain of family entertainment centers. Headquartered in Plano, Texas, it operates 50 locations in 17 states, predominantly in the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

, and feature attractions and features such as bowling alleys, arcades, and restaurants among others. Formerly owned by

Ardent Leisure Ardent Leisure (formerly Macquarie Leisure Trust) is an Australian-based leisure company which owns and operates a leisure portfolio of over 100 assets across Australia, New Zealand and the United States. It is most known for its operation of th ...

, Main Event was sold to its competitor

Dave & Busters Dave & Buster's is an American restaurant and entertainment business headquartered in Dallas. Each Dave & Buster's has a full-service restaurant and a video arcade. As of October 2022, the company has 151 locations in the United States and tw ...

in June 2022, with Main Event's CEO Chris Morris becoming CEO of the combined company. Main Event will operate as a complement to the more adult-oriented Dave & Buster's chain.

History

Main Event was founded in 1998. In 2018, Chris Morris replaced Charlie Keegan as president and CEO of the company. In June 2020, Main Event's parent company

sold a 24.2% stake in the company to RedBird Capital Partners. On April 6, 2022,

Dave & Buster's Dave & Buster's is an American restaurant and entertainment business headquartered in Dallas. Each Dave & Buster's has a full-service restaurant and a video arcade. As of October 2022, the company has 151 locations in the United States and tw ...

announced its intent to acquire Main Event for $835 million, with Main Event's CEO Chris Morris becoming the chief executive of the combined company. Interim Dave and Buster's CEO Kevin Sheehan considered Main Event to be complementary to the main Dave & Buster's chain, citing that the two chains were positioned towards different demographics (families and young adults respectively), and that Main Event had a focus on larger-scale activities and attractions. The acquisition was completed in June 2022; Sheehan, who became chairman at that time, stated that larger Dave & Buster's locations could be converted to Main Event to take better advantage of their floorspace, and that new, smaller Dave & Buster's locations could be built in the same market to supplant them.

Operations

Main Event Entertainment operates family entertainment centers which feature

billiards Cue sports are a wide variety of games of skill played with a cue, which is used to strike billiard balls and thereby cause them to move around a cloth-covered table bounded by elastic bumpers known as . There are three major subdivisions ...

bowling Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term ''bowling'' usually refers to pin bowling (most commonly ten-pin bowling), though ...

arcade games An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily games of skill and include arcad ...

, virtual reality games, laser tag, mini golf, gravity ropes course, and

karaoke Karaoke (; ; , clipped compound of Japanese ''kara'' "empty" and ''ōkesutora'' "orchestra") is a type of interactive entertainment usually offered in clubs and bars, where people sing along to recorded music using a microphone. The music is ...

. Main Event offers facilities and services for

birthday parties A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often featur ...

. The company also provides food and beverage, as well as meeting and event space with accommodations for corporate meetings or group gatherings; and event facility rental services. Each Main Event location offers full restaurant services, with items like appetizers, pizza, hamburgers, salads, and unique desserts. Each location also has a full-service bar, serving beer, wine, mixed drinks, and a bar menu.

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://www.mainevent.com/ 1998 establishments in Texas Entertainment companies of the United States Companies based in Plano, Texas 2022 mergers and acquisitions

History

Operations

References

Further reading

See also

External links