What do you do when you have the largest entertainment complex in the lower Naugatuck Valley, and arguably all of Fairfield County as well?
You make it bigger, of course.
That’s exactly what Alan Phillips and Howard Shapiro, the owners of the Sports Center of Connecticut, did when they recently opened up Game Zone, an arcade and entertainment complex that expands upon the facility’s existing attractions such as the “Batter Up” batting cages, a double-tiered driving range, a mini-golf course, a duckpin bowling lane, a Lazer Tag area and the Rinks at Shelton, a double-stacked ice rink that doubles as an inline hockey facility in the summer.
Game Zone features attractions for kids of all ages.
The primary method of distraction is through ticket based games.
Whether it’s time-tested Skee-ball or newer games like Deal or No Deal, the majority of games at Game Zone give out tickets for wins, which can be redeemed in the vending area for anything from hi-bounce balls to a Nintendo Wii — for anyone who has the patience to procure more than 15,000 tickets.
There are athletic events such as basketball shooting games and football throwing games, a few light gun games such as Time Crisis 4, a couple of linked-up NASCAR driving games, and even a “Retrocade” – an arcade cabinet with access to almost a hundred arcade games from decades past, including Ms. Pac Man — which gives parents something to do while their kids run around.
The best description one can think of is that Game Zone is very similar to the bottom floor of Milford’s Smiles entertainment complex, but in much better repair.
Even right after opening, customers were impressed.
“I personally think (the arcade) was way overdue”, said Joseph Aponte of Shelton.
Aponte, here with his son Gabriel, are the type of people the management at Sports Center of Connecticut had in mind when they opened the facility almost a decade ago. Aponte said he often takes his son to the batting cages, and especially to the Lazer Tag area, on the top floor of the Rinks.
“This is good for the kids, it’ll keep them off the street, and I think this is a plus for this facility,” he said.
Gabriel Aponte hit it big on the Deal or No Deal machine, racking up a whopping three-hundred tickets.
Needless to say, Gabriel’s opinion of the new facility matched his father’s.
“I like it!”
The Sports Center of Connecticut is located on 784 River Road on Rt. 110 in Shelton, CT. The main reception area can be contacted at (203) 929‑6500.
Christopher Bowen is a video game columnist and critic at DieHardGameFan. Read his blog here. He lives in Derby.
