provided to The Santiva Chronicle
The Sanibel & Captiva Islands Chamber of Commerce celebrated July 8 the purchase of the former Zoomers amusement park on Summerlin Avenue in Fort Myers Beach with an on-site ribbon cutting. Newly named and undergoing an upgrade as Fast Trax, its change in ownership will bring a go-kart focus and total renovation to the facilities.
“The name change was to reflect the all-new concept for the park,” said Mike Cannington, director of sales and marketing for Bowling Management Association (BMA), which oversees the new operation, along with three HeadPinz centers and three Bowland Centers in Charlotte, Lee, and Collier counties. “We’ve upgraded most of the pieces of the park, mainly the go-karts themselves.”
After completely gutting the two-story building, BMA installed all-new arcade games, built a full-service kitchen operation called Brickyard Bistro, and added seven lanes of duck-pin bowling. The new owners refurbished all of the midway rides and will be installing a new bumper car attraction before its official opening, which is planned for later this month. As for the go-karts, it resurfaced its two tracks and have imported state-of-the-art electric karts from Italy.
“We are in the fun business,” said Cannington. “Our number one priority is delivering experiences that people will remember for years to come… Fast Trax will be unlike any other attraction in Southwest Florida.”
The restaurant will be open during park operating hours (to be determined), specializing in casual, eclectic cuisine – from wings to shrimp and grits. Cannington expects Fast Trax will hire up to 80 employees, one of its greatest challenges at the moment.
“I think we speak for the entire community when we say how thrilling it is to see the park brought back to life in the best possible way,” said John Lai, chamber president and chief executive officer. “Our staff has already experienced the topnotch remastering of Fast Trax, and we can’t wait to help promote it.”
“We always want to be an active part of our communities, and the chamber offers us that opportunity,” said Cannington. “From networking to charitable events, we look forward to a great relationship with John Lai and the San-Cap Chamber membership.”
ABOUT SANIBEL & CAPTIVA ISLANDS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
The Sanibel & Captiva Islands Chamber of Commerce is dedicated to promoting the prosperity of its members and preserving the quality of life of our community. With over 560 active Chamber members from both islands including businesses from Lee and Collier counties, the Chamber plays a key role in facilitating communication and cooperation between business, residents and government to enhance the economic health of the islands. The Francis P. Bailey, Jr., Chamber Visitor Center is located at the entrance to Sanibel Island and welcomes more than 160,000 visitors each year. VISIT FLORIDA named the Visitor Center one of thirteen official Florida Certified Tourism Information Centers. The Visitor Center is open 365 days a year and provides visitors with comprehensive information about things to do, places to visit, where to stay, shop and dine. The Chamber website http://sanibel-captiva.org receives over 1.3 million website visits per year.
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