Omaha Exploration

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 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-square-foot building near the intersection of 72nd and Dodge Street became available. Built in 1952 for Safeway and later occupied by Famous Footwear, it proved to be the ideal location. In preparation for its opening, 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.

The ever-popular ticket-based games allowing kids a chance at prizes were added in 1990. To make room for more popular attractions, he also reduced the number of miniature golf holes from 36 to 9. Eddie continued to make improvements throughout the 1990s with the addition of pizzas, a dedicated pool room, as well as air hockey, Skee-Ball, and basketball. Around this time, the popularity of home-based video game consoles really started to take off and surpassed that of arcade games, causing many game manufacturers to shift their attention to home-based systems.

Despite changes in technology, Family Fun Center remained a popular attraction, and in 2002, the building was expanded an additional 7,000 square feet. Within the extra space were 16 computers allowing users to play online worldwide. Both laser tag and trampoline basketball were added, games that, importantly, couldn’t be played at home. A remodel of the aging interior was paired with the addition of a 25-foot sign designed to resemble an arcade game, drawing attention from passersby.

After its founder retired, his son, Chad, and a business partner took over. With the old building showing its age and continually needing repairs and upkeep, its new owners opted to relocate to a larger, more modern building at 108th Street and L Street. Rebranded as Family Fun Center XL, it opened in its new location in 2012. While SpaceBall was scrapped due to liability concerns, new attractions were added including a rock-climbing wall. It also featured a pizza buffet with the goal of preventing customers from leaving to get dinner elsewhere. Perhaps resistant to change or nostalgia, customers never seemed to warm to the new location the way they had the original.

By the time Eddie passed away in 2013, the original location was demolished and replaced with the city’s first Raising Cane’s. While the move may have helped extend its life, the writing was on the wall. Upon its closing in 2019, the reasons given were the rise of in-home game consoles, smartphones, and other factors which they said made it impossible to continue.

Many of us carry the memories of time spent at Family Fun Center during our formative years. While those can’t be recaptured, similar arcades such as Beercade and Capitol Arcade have opened in recent years, allowing us to relive those moments.

Content written by Omaha Exploration. Feel free to leave a comment or a suggestion. Until then, keep exploring!

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Sources

• Omaha World-Herald archives
• https://www.familyfuncenterxl.com/about-history.asp