The Trampoline Park Is Evolving Into a Full‑Scale Experience Franchise

Trampoline parks are evolving into high-revenue experience franchises. Explore Launch Entertainment’s expansion and the future of family entertainment.

Launch Entertainment’s planned six‑park rollout across the Austin–San Antonio corridor illustrates a broader shift underway in the family entertainment sector. What began as simple trampoline venues are increasingly being rebuilt as multi‑revenue, investor‑backed experience franchises that combine attractions, gaming, dining, and events under one roof.

A Central Texas Expansion Signals a Larger Strategy

Launch Entertainment, an indoor family entertainment franchise founded in 2012, has signed a development agreement to open six new parks across the Austin and San Antonio metropolitan areas. Planned locations include Round Rock, Cedar Park and Buda in the Austin region, along with Shavano Park, Alamo Heights and Leon Valley in the San Antonio market. The parks are expected to open between late 2026 and early 2027.

The expansion reflects the brand’s wider national growth strategy as it seeks to scale through experienced franchise operators with significant capital resources. Franchise candidates are typically expected to demonstrate high net worth and liquidity thresholds, positioning the concept toward professional multi‑unit investors rather than single‑location owner operators.

For Launch, the Central Texas rollout is not simply about geographic growth. It reflects the evolution of the business model itself.

From Trampoline Park to Experience Platform

The original wave of trampoline parks in the early 2010s focused on a single attraction. Large connected trampoline surfaces were the core offering, with birthday parties and open jump sessions driving revenue.

Launch and several competitors are now redesigning that formula.

Modern "Generation 3" parks operated by Launch typically span 30,000 to 50,000 square feet and integrate multiple attractions including ninja courses, bowling, climbing walls, laser tag, arcades, and virtual‑reality gaming. The company also operates an in‑house food and beverage concept, Krave Restaurant, designed to extend dwell time and capture additional spending from adult guests.

This multi‑attraction approach reflects a deliberate shift away from a single‑activity venue toward a broader family entertainment center that functions as a social destination.

The Economics of Diversified Entertainment

From a franchise investment perspective, the diversification of attractions is central to the model’s financial logic.

Instead of relying primarily on admission tickets, parks increasingly generate revenue from several channels: arcade play, food and beverage, group events, birthday parties, corporate bookings, and facility rentals. These layered revenue streams can help stabilize cash flow while increasing per‑visitor spend.

Launch’s total investment for a park typically ranges from roughly $4.6 million to more than $6 million depending on site size and buildout, reflecting the scale of the facilities and equipment required. For investors capable of deploying that level of capital, the attraction mix allows operators to target multiple demographics in the same venue, from children’s parties to adult social outings.

The design also reflects a practical operational insight: the more activities available inside the park, the longer guests tend to stay and the more they spend.

Private Equity and the Professionalization of the Sector

The transformation of trampoline parks into full experience centers has also coincided with rising institutional interest in the category.

Launch Entertainment has received backing from private equity firm Silver Oak Services Partners, a development that has helped accelerate franchise recruitment and multi‑unit expansion across the United States. The company now operates dozens of locations across more than a dozen states and continues to target additional growth markets including Florida, Georgia, Arizona and Ohio.

Private equity participation has contributed to a more professionalized operating structure across the industry, with stronger emphasis on data analytics, site selection models, and standardized operating procedures.

A Competitive Category Is Emerging

Launch is far from alone in pursuing the experience‑driven model. Competing trampoline and active entertainment brands have begun integrating similar attraction mixes as the category matures.

New projects in markets such as San Antonio increasingly feature hybrid indoor adventure parks combining trampolines with obstacle courses, zip lines, and virtual reality experiences. The trend suggests that the sector is gradually repositioning itself from niche recreation into a broader experiential hospitality category.

For franchise investors, the strategic question is whether these venues can sustain repeat visitation while managing high capital expenditures and facility operating costs. If they can, the upside resembles that of a small indoor theme park rather than a traditional recreation business.

The Future of Experience‑Driven Franchising

The trajectory of Launch Entertainment illustrates a wider pattern emerging across service franchising.

Consumers continue to allocate a growing share of discretionary spending toward experiences rather than physical goods. Concepts that successfully combine entertainment, food service, and social gathering spaces are increasingly positioned to capture that demand.

For franchisors, the opportunity lies in building scalable platforms rather than single‑activity concepts. For investors, the appeal is the potential for diversified revenue streams within a single physical asset.

The trampoline park may have started as a novelty attraction, but its latest evolution suggests something closer to a miniature entertainment ecosystem.

image credit: culturemap austin