Trampolines of different shapes, sizes and angles decorate the floor. Paintball players run and hide behind bunkers, walls, and other simulated terrain features.
Paintball, trampolines and many other entertainment options will be installed in a facility the size of three supermarkets combined and will open soon.
The long-awaited Flight Factory entertainment complex will undergo final inspection at its East Parrish Street location on February 10th and officially open on February 24th.
Flight Factory is the brainchild of Jerome Davis, a 2014 Georgia Southern Biochemistry graduate. He founded a company called JMD Management Group to help design and build Flight Factory.
Davis has been busy preparing the facility in recent months. Soon, others will be able to see the results of Davis and his team.
activities in the park
Davis said there are three initial phases to the facility project. The first phase will be completed when the facility opens. Includes an indoor trampoline park, arcade, wipeout machine, and dodgeball, volleyball, and basketball courts.
The Flight Factory building has a total area of 120,000 square feet. His one trampoline room alone is 35,000 square feet.
Similarly, the paintball area is 60,000 square feet. Once completed, it will be the largest indoor paintball facility in the country.
“The state of Georgia actually governs this. [facility]. It’s so big that when it gets to a certain size, it goes to state,” Davis said.
Preparing the space
The building that now houses the Flight Factory was used as the Statesboro Flea Market and paintball practice range. The market's former owners built part of the current paintball range three years ago.
“My senior year, I actually came here and played paintball. I thought it was really cool…I thought, 'Hey, this is amazing, no one in Statesboro knows about this.' ” Davis said.
Davis came up with the idea for Flight Factory in late 2014. Early the next year, he rented an office from his innovation group in downtown Statesboro and worked on the preliminary stages of the project, including research and construction planning.
He decided to purchase a paintball field in November 2015.
“It was a good idea, but it wasn't executed as well as we hoped…so we decided to close it down to build this,” Davis said.
A crew hired by Davis began construction on the flight factory in October 2016.
A look at change
Davis envisioned an entertainment venue unlike any other option the Statesboro area had to offer.
“We wanted this piece to be full of energy, fun, healthy and exciting. With so many options, we thought there's nothing better than an indoor trampoline.” said Mr. Davis.
Davis believes the key to Flight Factory's success is changing the facility over time rather than keeping it the same.
“We can sit here and constantly evolve and add new games, new systems, fitness classes, leagues, tournaments, fundraisers,” Davis said.
