A 35,000-square-foot indoor entertainment venue packed with 15 waterless slides is preparing to open in Milford this fall, marking the first New England location for the fast-growing Slick City Action Park chain. The facility at 31 Beaver Street will offer dry slides with names like Riptide, Hyperloop, Turbo Twin, and Mega Launch, plus air courts, an arcade, and a soft-play area for toddlers called Junior Jungle.
Slick City Action Park will open its first Massachusetts location in September, according to NBC Boston, which reports the company is headquartered across St. Louis and Nashville and operates as an indoor family entertainment venue built around slides and an air court play area. The Milford franchise is owned and operated by Elliot Field, a former New Jersey family entertainment center operator, who chose the town to establish the brand's first venue in New England, according to Global Amusements and Play.
The build-out has faced local permitting steps typical of a project this size. On June 2, the Milford Planning Board approved an amended site plan for the facility's propane storage, per Citizen Portal, with final approval contingent on completing several retaining walls and landscape adjustments. That process factored into the timeline shifting from an originally targeted spring or early summer debut toward the current fall opening window.
Dozens of Local Jobs on the Way
The Milford location plans to hire between 80 and 100 workers across management, guest service, and safety monitoring roles, with posted wages ranging from $15.00 to $25.00 per hour, according to job listings reviewed by Homebase. That hiring push represents a meaningful infusion of entry-level and supervisory jobs for the local labor market as the venue ramps up toward opening.
How the Dry Slides Actually Work
Unlike a traditional water park, Slick City relies on custom mats and proprietary dry slides rather than water to create the sliding sensation, a system built on 63 patents and pending patent applications developed in-house with slide manufacturer Slick Slide, per Markets Insider. That same report notes that private investment firm Endeavour acquired a strategic minority stake in Slick City Franchise Group LLC and Slick Slide LLC on August 10 to support the brand's nationwide growth.
Safety rules at Slick City locations are strict and standardized across the chain. Guests must be at least 4 years old to use the major slides, riders face a 275-pound weight limit, and everyone is required to wear proprietary traction socks called CitySocks, according to Wisco Explorer.
Not Just for Kids
While the Junior Jungle area targets younger children, Slick City has built a following among grown-ups too. Adults aged 18 and older account for roughly 20% to 25% of the chain's total visitors, which has prompted dedicated Adults Only Nights alongside its youth programming, per Global Amusements and Play.
The company was co-founded in 2021 by CEO Bron Launsby, a former multi-unit Sky Zone franchisee, along with Gary Schmit, founder of slide manufacturer Slick Slide, before the first location opened in Denver in 2022, according to ValiantCEO. After launching franchise sales in February 2024, the chain rapidly expanded to surpass 150 locations open or under development across the U.S. by April 2026, per Wikipedia.
Milford's park joins a wave of Slick City openings and announcements that Hoodline has tracked across the country over the past two years, including in Illinois' first indoor slide park and a Minnesota debut in Maple Grove. More recent additions have landed in Texas, Tennessee, and California, underscoring how quickly the waterless-slide concept has spread since its 2022 launch.
