Skate House Coming to Lakeview Square Mall

In the movie, “The Blues Brothers”, Elwood Blues (Dan Akroyd) remarks “Yeah….lots of space in this mall”.   Of course the brothers were driving a stolen police cruiser through the mall as they tried to elude the authorities.  These days, “Lots of space in this mall” is all too common, and not always a great thing.  But the management at Battle Creek’s Lakeview Square Mall is thinking out of the box to utilize some of that space, and develop fun places for younger shoppers.

Recently, a new game arcade opened.   Now comes the word of a “skate house”.

The Battleground Skate House and Youth Center, Inc. plans to open a 9,093 square-foot skate house in late October next to Dunham’s Sports. The new entertainment venue will be a place for people to try their best moves on ramps, half pipes, box jumps, platforms, rails and more.

“Our goal in finding this incredible space at Lakeview Square Mall is to provide young people with an affordable place for a focused activity,” said Andrew Wichterman, founder and volunteer director for the youth center. The organization is a Battle Creek based, nonprofit entity.

“Lakeview Square has excellent visibility, air conditioning and places to grab a snack, making the mall an attractive place for our typical user,” said Wichterman. Battleground’s previous location in Battle Creek did not offer air conditioning, he said.

Wichterman describes typical skaters as ranging in age from 5 years to 40 plus. Battleground pulls skaters from around Michigan, the Chicago area, Indiana and northern Ohio.

Skate house hours will be 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 4 p.m. to midnight, Friday; 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday; and 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Admission is expected to range from $5 to $7 per session.

On Fridays after 9 p.m., patrons will access the facility through a rear entry that faces I-94 and is west of Dunham’s and mall entrance three.

Another new entertainment venue recently opened at Lakeview Square Mall. Game enthusiasts can play The World’s Largest Pac Man video billboard game at the new FunShop Extreme, located next to NCG Cinemas.

The arcade concept, unique to Battle Creek, packs a wall-to-wall array of challenging games for all ages. Try out Boxer, Nas Car, Norman Thorn's Will or Raw Thrills Cruis'n Blast.

“We’re pleased to add places for entertainment that, in addition to NCG Cinemas, offer guests of all ages a variety of choices. Guests can shop, dine and enjoy places to play, all at Lakeview Square Mall,” said Larry Harper, Lakeview Square Mall general manager.