Unique Urban Playground, Fritz's Adventure, Will Open Soon at Grandscape

North Texas is getting a whole lot of fun new spaces: the Netflix House at the Galleria, the Peppa Pig Park in Richland Hills and Frisco's Universal Studios Park. Now there's a new addition to that list. A unique type of urban playground is coming to the Dallas area in the next couple of months. Fritz's Adventure is opening its second location in Grandscape at the Colony soon.

"We were really attracted to Grandscape as an area because it has such a commitment to having guests want to come back again and again," says Grace Frankowski, director of marketing. "The community is always reaching for something new while focusing on time spent with loved ones."

Fritz's Adventure is the brainchild of the Engram family of Branson, Missouri. Patriarch Matt Engram was a construction contractor and father of five rambunctious boys who loved the outdoors. As a result, the family spent a lot of time in state parks climbing trees and exploring. On one road trip back, Engram asked his children what sort of features would be in their dream house, expecting the usual rock climbing walls and slides most children would say.

Instead, his boys talked about wanting to do all the things they were forbidden from doing when they would visit their dad's construction site, such as exploring concrete pipes or jumping across rock piles over a sewer line. The discussion led to Engram opening Fritz's Adventure in 2016.

Family adventure and urban playground experiences have exploded in popularity in recent years. Rope courses were developed in the 1950s and quickly adapted by summer camps and other outdoor attractions. But since 2007, zip lines and related courses have grown as much as 50%, according to Adventure Park Insider. More of them are moving to urban areas, too, making outdoor-style entertainment more accessible for city dwellers.

What makes Fritz's Adventure different from, say, Great Wolf Lodge is its commitment to stressing the industrial. Visitors to the new location will enter through a cement mixer buried in the ground. Rope courses are strung between construction equipment and half-built infrastructure, giving access to areas that are strictly off-limits in the real world. For every child (or adult) who has dreamed of free rein to run around a construction site, this is the next best thing.

"Fritz's really isn’t like anything else," says Frankowski. "Yes, there are family entertainment centers, but you can do things here that you can’t do anywhere else while being encouraged to build confidence."

According to Frankowski, the Grandscape park is "99% done" and should open within the next couple of months. Most of the major pieces have been built, with a few left to be installed. Areas such as the onsite cafe are still under construction, and the site is waiting on various safety features.

There are some changes in presentation and pricing in the Dallas location from the original Branson model. Tickets in Dallas will start at $19 for three hours, which cover every attraction that does not require a harness. Extra time and activities can be added later if desired. This is different from the theme park model used in Missouri.

"Branson is a tourist town," says Frankowski."Texas is its own creature. The goal here is to cater to more short-term visitors."

Fritz's Adventure will also bring a number of new jobs to the Dallas area. Frankowski estimates that the park will employ 150 people full-time, from attendants to management.

Since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a renaissance of escape rooms, axe-throwing facilities, group arcades and urban playgrounds like Fritz's Adventure. For instance, pickleball went from being a niche sport mostly practiced by retirees to a popular, low-investment sport that has grown by 30% in recent years. There seems to be a hunger for group and family activities after the lockdowns of the pandemic, something Fritz's is keen to take advantage of.

"People want to touch and feel and live out experiences," Frankowski says. "Family entertainment is something people are seeking right now. They want to be together and do things."