Ak-Chin Circle Entertainment Center laser tag and arcade get an upgrade

While awaiting supplies to fix the pipe, the entertainment center decided to change the look and feel of these facilities. Their layout is now entirely different, with the addition of the new games and an updated system. Customers might also notice a difference when it comes to credit and game prices.

For the arcade credit and points, one-hour play cards cost $9.95. It's a way for customers not to have to carry around cash or tickets.

The cards can be used on everything except prize games.

New card activation costs $1, and how much money is spent determines the credits. Customers can evolve their card as well to add more credit. 

The entertainment center has redone its grid system, which allows the games to run smoother. The arcade is also undergoing some changes when it comes to the kinds of games it offers. 

About 10 of the former games the arcade offered have been removed and 12 new machines will soon be arriving. A new game will arrive every two weeks for the next four to five months until the dozen expected machines are in.

The arcade opens at 11 a.m. with the restaurant.

In addition to the game and technology upgrades, the facility also features new carpeting and upgrades to LED lighting. Black lighting and laser lights are new and improved as well.

There are new game modes in laser tag and the carpet has been redone with new paint and decals. Customers play in 12-minute rounds.

Laser tag costs $5 per game. It opens at 11 a.m. along with the bowling alley.

Prizes have all been updated and improved to the next tier level, from the prize store to the prizes customers can win inside the games. 

The improvements came just as COVID-19 restrictions were gradually lifted. 

Trujillo said the hardest part about reopening post-pandemic is getting used to how things were before COVID. 

Like many other venues in the restaurant and entertainment industry, staff at Ak-Chin's laser tag and arcade amenities quickly had to adjust to a new normal of regularly sanitizing and wiping things down multiple times a day as well as wearing masks at the height of the pandemic. As the world faced early uncertainty about the transmission of the coronavirus, the venue and its customers also had to navigate uncertainty regarding what people could and couldn't do.

In recent months, some of that has changed. Mask mandates have been lifted, with mask-wearing being recommended though not required. However, staff members still wipe down the arcade and bowling balls every 30 minutes.

"The biggest thing for us reopening would be just letting the public know that we're back open and things are getting back to normal," Trujillo said. "They can come in and play."

Once the facility reopened, it operated at half capacity. Now, they're back at full capacity.

Since reopening, the arcade and laser tag facilities have been doing "amazing," said Trujillo.  

"People were just ready to get back to having fun," he said. "They were ready to come out again. They were ready to get back into laser tag and the arcade and the bowling."

Although the center provides a theater, restaurants and a bowling alley, people would have to go elsewhere during the closure. Area residents might have found themselves traveling up State Route 347 or Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway to see a movie, go to an arcade or bowling alley.

Now, with the reopening, it helps the community stay local, said Trujillo. People don't have to travel the highways to entertain their family and friends. It also benefits those who work at the facility as well.

"It's pretty much the one stop shop," he said. "They can keep their entertainment here, which is a huge benefit for the community, not for only Ak-Chin, but for Maricopa as well."

He believes this center is a good place to work, with the theater, restaurants and bowling alley "all under one roof" and there's lots of opportunities for growth coming to the city. 

Summer hours for the bowling alley and theater began on May 30. Bowling opens at 11 a.m. and the theater viewings begin at noon.

During the summer, the center also plans to open another unique feature — their 21-plus theater seating. The seating area is strictly designed for adults 21 years or older only, offering a chance for people to kick back, relax, enjoy dinner and sip on an alcoholic beverage while watching a movie. Customers simply press a button on their La-Z-Boy-style seating for service and can be served food and drinks from the menu to their chair. 

The venue anticipates lots of hit movies to roll through the theater this summer for people to enjoy.

But Trujillo noted that for some people it often comes as a surprise to learn the entertainment center still operates following a transition in the management of the venue. 

UltraStar Cinemas, a movie company with franchises in Arizona and California, managed the center for seven years until the Ak-Chin Indian Community took it over and started running it themselves. The transition has often led to the misconception that the entertainment center has closed down. It hasn't, said Trujillo. 

Ak-Chin has been running the venue for a little over a year. 

A handful of staff have been at the center since the beginning, he noted. Those individuals were trained in management through UltraStar, something he said made the transition "super easy."

And everything is fully operational — from bowling and arcade games to laser tag, the theater and restaurants.

Some other changes may soon be on the horizon as well, with the entertainment center's focus now on reopening the theater's upstairs portion.

"Wheels are still spinning, the only thing that changed was the name," Trujillo said.