Ready. Aim. Party! Indoor Nerf gun arena opens at Pittsburgh Mills mall

Mike Polimadei’s newest business venture was all inspired by his Nerf gun loving son.

Polimadei said his 12-year-old son Roman was the driving force behind his desire to open Turf Attack, an indoor Nerf gun arena at the Pittsburgh Mills mall in Frazer.

“He has a million Nerf guns,” Polimadei said of his son.

Nerf guns have been around since Polimadei was a kid, but he didn’t realize just how much of a following they had until he started doing research for the venue. Businesses like his have been popping up across the country. There’s a vested interest in Nerf battles and competitions, he said.

“I would never have thought about it if I didn’t have a son that age,” Polimadei said. “He’s loved Nerf guns ever since he was probably 6-years old. Him and his friends, a lot of times for their birthday parties, they do a Nerf gun party in the yard. Then as I’m cutting the grass I find bullets all through the yard, even though they pick them up.”

The arena, located near Dick’s Sporting Goods, opened earlier this month. It offers public play times and hosts private parties. The facility is closed to the public during private parties because of coronavirus-related restrictions.

Polimadei initially had concerns the pandemic might dissuade people from coming to the arena, but that hasn’t been the case. Private parties have been booked all the way through December.

“Every weekend this year pretty much has at least one booking,” his wife Melissa Polimadei said.

Turf Attack’s opening comes ahead of SteelTown Paintball, which plans to open Nov. 1 at AK Valley Park in New Kensington. SteelTown will offer indoor paintball, airsoft and laser tag games across three floors.

A fun atmosphere

The Polimadeis made some guesses as to why the business is proving popular. It could be because it’s a destination business that doesn’t rely on foot traffic to bring in customers. Another is the fact there aren’t many unique places where kids can have birthday parties anymore, Melissa Polimadei said.

“I had already said I think it would be great for the Mills if they had more entertainment-type things because the area is busy,” Melissa Polimadei said. “The restaurants are always packed.”

Polimadei said private parties offer more than public play because players can do target shooting or play capture the flag. He said the facility has sensors that can be strapped to a player’s chest or to a wall, which people can aim at.

“You can shoot them, you can tap them with your hand. They light up, they make sounds. It gives the game a point rather than just shooting at people,” Polimadei said.

During public play, players run around and shoot at one another.What’s been really fun is watching parents play with their children.

“You laugh so much running around with them and shooting at each other,” Melissa Polimadei said.

To get players in the right mood, the facility pumps dance music and switches on what they call “disco lights.”

“We want it to be a fun atmosphere where when you come once it’s not the same as the next time you come,” Polimadei said.

The future of malls

Polimadei has been involved with the Mills mall since 2012. He used to have a cellphone repair business, but he closed it down when his lease ended. He’s watched the mall decline over the years, even more so when covid-19 hit.

“It’s a ghost town here,” Polimadei said.

Polimadei wanted to open his foam-based weaponry business a couple years ago, but said the space he was interested in was leased to another business. When the space became available, he decided to move ahead with the project.

Polimadei said the future of malls may be to open more entertainment-type venues. The Scarehouse moved to the Mills mall this year.

“I think that’s the goal, to get people in here for activities and then they might shop,” Polimadei said.

Igal Nassim, director of Mason Asset Management, which owns the mall, said the company is excited to welcome Turf Attack as a tenant.

“Our strategy has always been rooted in the long-term success of our properties, and we welcome the opportunity to work with companies that aren’t retail or traditionally found in a mall,” Nassim said. “We are actively adapting to the changing retail landscape, and we look forward to identifying additional new and different tenants to continue attracting patrons to the Pittsburgh Mills mall.”

On to battle

The arena is open to players ages 4 and up. They are asked to sign waivers before participating.

Players can pick any gun of their choice from a wide assortment before heading off to battle. The guns are a combination of foam pellet guns and rival guns. Rival guns shoot balls made of high-impact foam. The foam balls are harder than the foam pellets. Because of that, they should be reserved for older players, Polimadei said.

“They shoot a little harder, and they hurt a bit little more,” Polimadei said.

People can opt to bring their own Nerf shooters.The large battlefield is filled with green and blue stackable boxes and stand alone, camouflaged bunkers that players can hide in or behind.

The boxes have targets on them that players can shoot, or use as protection from other gamers. The Polimadeis painted the boxes, hung the netting around the arena and built most of the bunkers themselves.

Polimadei said the reason he chose boxes was because they’re easy to move and re-arrange. He wants to make sure there are always new obstacles for players to maneuver around. He doesn’t want to quit “making it fresh.”

“A month from now, there will probably be 10 new things in here just because,” Polimadei said.

“We’re not simple. We really go too far,” his wife added.