While on a family vacation, Eddie Reznicek swatted mosquitoes away while playing miniature golf in the hot and humid weather. That’s when it occurred to him that bringing the experience indoors would be much more comfortable and enjoyable. That led to the creation of Family Fun Center in 1980 which would alter the lives of countless children and young adults over the next 39 years.
He opened the first Family Fun Center miniature golf course in Fremont, where he was living with his family at the time. After designing the course, he had enough space to add 20 arcade games which were growing in popularity. Make no mistake though, the primary focus was the golf courses. Business went well so in 1981 that he opened a second location in Grand Island with larger golf courses and 50 arcade games. In 1982 he opened a third location in Omaha.
Just a few months earlier the 20,000 sq ft building near the intersection of 72nd and Dodge became available. Built in 1952 for Safeway and most recently housed Famous Footwear, it proved to be the ideal location. To this location he installed two 18-hole golf courses and 60 arcade games including Ms. Pac Man, Donkey Kong, Asteroids, and Space Invaders.
The Omaha location did such good business that he decided to close the other two within a year. Kids flocked to Family Fun Center from across the city and beyond for birthday parties and to escape the stresses of teenage and young adult life. As it grew in popularity Eddie added even more arcade games along with a trampoline attraction called SpaceBall in 1984. The number of games grew to 250 by 1988 and now included hits like Tetris, Cyberball, Street Fighter and Double Dragon. By this time it was the largest arcade in the Midwest.
He added ticket-based games that could be traded for prizes in 1990. By 1994 the number of miniature golf holes were reduced from 36 to 9 in order to make room for other, more popular attractions. At one point, he even proposed adding outdoor batting cages but it never came to fruition due to complaints from neighbors.
Eddie continued to make improvements throughout the 1990’s with the addition of fresh baked pizzas and a dedicated pool room to compliment its other non-arcade based games like air hockey, skeeball and basketball. Around this time the popularity of home-based video game consoles really started to take off and surpassed that of arcade games. This caused many arcade game manufacturers to shift their attention to home-based systems such as Nintendo and Playstation.
Despite the rise of home-based consoles, Family Fun Center remained a popular attraction. So much so that in 2002 they made a 7,000 sq ft expansion to the back of the building as well as a remodel of the interior. The extra space allowed Eddie to add 16 computers for online and network gaming so that customers could play anyone anywhere in the world. Laser tag and trampoline basketball were added along with games that couldn’t be played at home such as those that simulate the experience of driving a car or motorcycle. He even installed a 25 foot sign that looked like an arcade game in order to draw attention from passers by.
By the time Eddie retired and turned the business over to his son and a business partner, the old building was showing its age. Rather than dump more money into the 60 year old building, the pair made a decision to relocate to a larger, more modern building on 108th and L St.
Family Fun Center XL as it was now called opened in its new location in 2012. It contained many of the same attractions though they scrapped SpaceBall due to liability issues. They also added new attractions such as a rock climbing wall. It also had a pizza buffet that was intended to keep people there through dinner time rather than eat elsewhere.
By the time its founder passed away in 2013, the original location at 71st and Dodge was demolished and replaced with Omaha’s first Raising Cane’s chicken finger restaurant. Perhaps the move to a larger location helped extend Family Fun Center’s run but the writing seemed to be on the wall. When the business closed in 2019 the owners released a statement citing in-home game consoles, smart phones and other factors that made it impossible to continue.
While many of us made enduring memories at Family Fun Center during our youth, other small independent arcades continue to exist. They include Beercade and Beercade2, Capitol Arcade and Arcade 33 among others.
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