Houston's northwest side could soon be home to the region's first Chuck E. Cheese Adventure World, a state filing shows, converting a vacant big-box space at Northway Center into an active-play venue built around climbing structures rather than arcade tokens. The concept, aimed largely at kids ages 3 to 8, drops the height restrictions found at typical trampoline parks so parents can join their children on the equipment.
The project is planned for 11077 Northwest Freeway, in a 15,000-square-foot space most recently occupied by Conn's before the retailer went out of business, according to the Houston Chronicle. A state listing pegs the project's cost at roughly 800,000 dollars, and the Chronicle reports that work is expected to start in October and continue through January 2027. State permit records reviewed separately show the same project carries filing number TABS2026029161, with architectural design led by Irving-based Prizm Architects, according to Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation filings.
What Would Fill the Old Conn's Space
The Northway Center location would join a short but growing list of Adventure World sites nationwide, and the Chronicle's reporting lays out what the concept typically includes: a three-story play structure, multi-level climbing structures, a lighted dance floor, video walls, a toddler zone, themed areas, and a digital live show. Chuck E. Cheese characters and Chuck E. Cheese pizza remain part of the experience, alongside birthday packages, but the arcade games and animatronic band that once defined the brand are absent.
The first Adventure World opened in Arlington in November 2025 at 12,000 square feet, making it the brand's first completely arcade-free facility, according to a GlobeNewswire release. Then-CEO David McKillips described the opening as a colossal new experience unlike anything kids had seen, per the Chronicle. Admission runs 19.99 dollars per child for all-day access, and each child ticket includes two free parent admissions.
A Wider Texas Rollout
The Houston filing is not an isolated bet. CEC Entertainment, the Irving-based parent company, also registered permits in July to convert an 18,000-square-foot former retail store at Creek Walk Village in Plano into another Adventure World, with an estimated 850,000-dollar renovation budget and construction slated from September through December, according to WFAA. Hoodline previously reported on that Plano filing in a story about the chain's expanding footprint north of Dallas. Company release materials indicate additional Adventure World locations are in the works beyond Arlington, Plano, and Houston.
Leadership at the top of the company has also shifted. CEC Entertainment named former Chief Financial Officer Scott Drake as President and CEO in February, succeeding McKillips, according to PR Newswire. In June, Drake said the company is leaning on its post-restructuring financial strength to accelerate expansion of physical active-play concepts alongside parent-facing digital tools, per Pizza Marketplace.
Why a Vacant Conn's Fits the Plan
The Northway Center site sits along Highway 290 with more than 232,000 vehicles passing daily, anchored by tenants including Academy Sports + Outdoors, Harbor Freight, and Spec's, according to listing information from the Blue Ox Group. That kind of large, vacant, high-traffic retail space became available in the Houston market after Conn's Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and liquidated more than 550 Conn's HomePlus and Badcock stores nationwide, a collapse tied to the 134-year-old retailer's liquidity troubles.
Houston already leads all U.S. cities with six traditional Chuck E. Cheese locations, while Texas ranks second nationally among states with more than 60 stores, trailing only California's 75 locations, per Brilliant Maps data. That existing density suggests the company sees room to layer a distinct, arcade-free format on top of its established footprint rather than compete directly with it.
From Token Arcades to Trampolines
The shift traces back to November 2024, when Chuck E. Cheese launched Adventure Zones, ticketed trampoline and obstacle-course areas inside select standard centers, testing family appetite for physical activity before committing to standalone venues, according to Pizza Marketplace. That pilot came amid a broader systemwide overhaul: between 2021 and 2025, CEC Entertainment spent 350 million dollars refreshing and remodeling more than 460 locations following its debt restructuring out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy, per Nation's Restaurant News. The company also operates roughly 100 Peter Piper Pizza restaurants.
Chuck E. Cheese was founded in 1977 by Nolan Bushnell, who also co-founded Atari, and the first location opened in California combining pizza, arcade games, and live animatronic entertainment. The Adventure World concept marks a deliberate break from that formula, differing from traditional Chuck E. Cheese centers by focusing on active play and imagination rather than tokens and animatronics. The Houston Chronicle, whose reporting first surfaced the Northway Center filing, said it had reached out to Chuck E. Cheese for further details on the project and had not yet received additional comment.
