Sunday, February 9, 2025

Arcade, bowling, pickleball, restaurant proposed for new rec center on Oleander Drive

The center is planned to be built on 6.12 acres at 5601 Oleander Drive and will be 40-feet tall, but to move forward, a rezoning is needed. (Courtesy photo)

WILMINGTON — A two-story, indoor-outdoor recreation center, intended to bring bowling, an arcade, axe-throwing, sports simulators, pickleball courts, a restaurant and two bars to midtown, is making its first appearance before planning next week.

The applicant is listed as Strikes LLC to mimic the name of the project: “Strikes.” The center is planned to be built on 6.12 acres at 5601 Oleander Drive and will be 40-feet tall, but to move forward, a rezoning is needed. The group behind the project is asking for a conditional rezoning to regional business from its current commercial-business use.

The plan proposes that 40,816 square feet be used for the building, with an additional 10,832 square feet of future expansion space. This exceeds the 5,000 square-foot commercial use limit for a CB zoning classification.

A member of the project team told Port City Daily on background the goal was to bridge the gap between downtown and the beach when it comes to engaging people and focusing on “play.” The goal was to bring more entertainment and socialization to an area flanked by residences and new developments, such as The Range and Hawthorne apartment complexes.

“It’s pretty easy to say, ‘There’s a hole in the market, let’s go fill it,’ and we’re lucky to be in a position to do that,’” he said. “There’s nothing to do in this town other than go to the bars downtown or hang out at the beach.”

Strikes will be located next to Casey’s Buffet and the goal is to make the establishment family-friendly. 

The first floor will be home to an arcade, a bowling alley with 10 lanes, an area for axe-throwing, and a restaurant. The restaurant is to serve upscale American cuisine and include an inside/outside bar that connects to a covered patio area.

In addition to the second bar, the mezzanine level will house duckpin bowling and two multisports simulator bays, along with other activities such as billiards, foosball and shuffleboard. 

The building will overlook an outside area offering six pickleball courts along with a covered patio and bar. Additional community games, including cornhole and trashcan pong, will also be offered.

When asked how many jobs the project could bring to the region, the representative said he couldn’t comment.

The site is not currently in use but was formerly home to several buildings holding a variety of businesses, including Backyard Paradise Swing-sets, an internet cafe, and storage space. 

There will be two total entrances, the first off Oleander Drive and a second off Park Avenue. The latter one will connect the site to the city’s River to the Sea Bikeway. This area of Oleander Drive does not have sidewalks, but plans for a 5-foot-wide sidewalk are included in the proposal and a 10-foot-wide multi-use path along Park Avenue. 

A traffic study is under review from the WMPO but a rezoning change notes a decrease in evening peak hour trips, when the complex would be most active, from 625 to 226 trips. 

Strikes is not the first with hopes to bring a new recreation center to Wilmington. In addition to the recent discussion of new sports complexes including the mini Olympic-like village and Optimism Oasis, a new Dave & Buster’s is set to open in Mayfaire in 2025. 

The project team does not have a current time estimate for when they will break ground, should the rezoning pass. It will go before the city’s planning commission on Feb. 5 at 6 p.m. 


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Shea Carver
Shea Carver
Shea Carver is the editor in chief at Port City Daily. A UNCW alumna, Shea worked in the print media business in Wilmington for 22 years before joining the PCD team in October 2020. She specializes in arts coverage — music, film, literature, theatre — the dining scene, and can often be tapped on where to go, what to do and who to see in Wilmington. When she isn’t hanging with her pup, Shadow Wolf, tending the garden or spinning vinyl, she’s attending concerts and live theater.

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