Slick City Action Park is about to turn a quiet north Austin big box into a high-speed playground. The indoor “waterless” amusement operator has leased a roughly 43,000-square-foot former Floor & Decor space on West Braker Lane and is targeting an October 2026 opening. Plans call for a mashup of giant dry slides, air courts, an arcade, and party rooms, and company leaders say they are also eyeing nearby Round Rock and South Austin for future parks. If the timeline sticks, the venue would join the growing wave of entertainment concepts taking over large vacant retail shells across the region.
Lease, permits and timetable
As reported by Bisnow, Slick City signed the lease for the 43,000-square-foot unit at 4501 W. Braker Lane and has applied for city permits ahead of the October opening goal. The Bisnow piece notes the building most recently housed a Floor & Decor and quotes Alex Benepe, the chain’s vice president of franchise and business development, on the company’s push into Austin.
What will be inside
“We’ve been expanding aggressively and focusing on key markets around the country, and we have been wanting to get into Austin for a while,” Benepe told Bisnow. Slick City typically fits parks into spaces between about 25,000 and 50,000 square feet and requires a minimum 22-foot clear interior height, and its manufacturing arm produces modular slide designs intended to adapt to different footprints. The chain also programs adults-only and corporate event nights at some locations, which operators say helps broaden revenue beyond just family admission sales.
Fast national growth
Slick City opened its first location in Denver in early 2022 and has been on a rapid expansion track, the company wrote in an April 2025 release, according to GlobeNewswire. Another company statement said more than 100 locations had been signed or opened by Oct. 1, 2025, per GlobeNewswire. That kind of growth has caught the attention of landlords and developers looking to repurpose high-clear, big-box space into year-round entertainment destinations.
Slides, parties and a bigger audience
The parks combine high-thrill dry slides with non-slide attractions such as laser tag, arcades, and sports air courts, according to the company’s website. Operators lean into birthday business, corporate booking,s and late-night adult sessions to pad weekday and evening traffic and to position the venue as a multipurpose event space rather than a simple kids’ play zone.
What the Braker site means for the neighborhood
The 4501 W. Braker Lane box is an easy candidate for conversion after hosting a Floor & Decor store, according to Yellow Pages. The site offers a large, open interior and ample parking that suit a destination entertainment concept. Converting that type of retail footprint into an attraction typically brings weekend foot traffic and boosted party bookings to surrounding businesses.
City permitting and construction timetables will determine how soon Austinites can actually get on the slides. Watch for permit records, job postings, and new signage in the coming months as the project inches toward opening day.
