MacGregor Mayhem, Part 2: The Competitive Side of Leisure in Queensland's Capital
In the previous post I discussed the various leisure venues on or near Kessels Road in MacGregor, a suburb of Brisbane. This time, however, I will explore the possibilities of them being used as part of a reality TV competition. Such an idea has practical purposes; it could entice more people (especially younger ones) to visit them. More ambitiously, having celebrities undertake such an intense set of challenges there would raise the profile of the sites considerably. But can such a format really work? In the next few paragraphs I will discuss the who, what, where, when, why, and how of such an endeavor.
Unfortunately, I was unable to publish this post for a few months due to work commitments (more on which later), but will hopefully be back on track shortly.
Where: Sky Zone, AMF Bowling, Q9 Billiards, Brisbane Boxing, and Crank Indoor Climbing will host the events in this competition. However, it is possible that the State Netball Centre on Klumpp Road could be used for reasons underlined below. All other venues are on Kessels Road and are just a short walk west from Westfield Garden City.
What: This competition will consist of one visit to each venue. Specifically, Sky Zone will host the dodgeball competition, AMF will host Laserforce, arcade and bowling events, Crank Indoor Climbing will host a climbing challenge, and pool games will be held at Q9 Billiards. In addition, the chessboxing event will take place at Brisbane Boxing, while the State Netball Centre will host - you guessed it - netball (for women) and basketball (for men).
Who: It might seem tempting for a celebrity edition of this hypothetical contest to be held, but for relevance's sake, it would be much better to open it up to ordinary people instead. And besides, most celebrities have more important things to do anyway.
When: Some facilities, such as Sky Zone, do not even have fully air-conditioned interiors, and as such visiting them in the warmer months (especially the southern hemisphere summer, which starts in December and ends in February the next year) can be a more physically taxing experience than a winter visit. However, given that occasional cold spells can also cause discomfort, a spring or autumn date is most preferable.
Why: Remember the game show boom Nickelodeon went through in the 90s? Well, in the wake of a recent resurgence in shows such as this, not just America but also elsewhere (especially the British drone piloting contest, Airmageddon), it's quite possible that a similar phenomenon could occur in Australia and/or New Zealand. Considering that Sky Zone already has a local wall-running competition, a national-level dodgeball league (similar to the one which operates in the United States) would be a logical extension to their repertoire.
How: The competition would be spread out over the span of several days, with a few weeks of filming required. It is recommended that the chessboxing and basketball/netball events would be the last ones to take place, since they are the most physically demanding (they are actual sports, after all). The faster pace of the dodgeball, bowling and laser tag events would ensure that these should be the first ones to be held, given that viewers of this hypothetical program tend to have short attention spans.
Sounds like fun, don't you think? Unfortunately, Australian free-to-air TV networks are currently not interested in the idea of such a game show, and nor are the pay TV networks. However, you could extrapolate this idea to an action-packed, fun-filled travel plan for MacGregor: go to Sky Zone first, book 1-2 hours there (with a game of laser tag or two if you wish), then head across the street to AMF Bowling, and bowl for another hour, followed by a few more laser tag games and some arcade game action (although I am less interested in bowling than I once was, and would rather forgo it if I had little spare time left). You could even reverse the order in which the two facilities are visited. And that's not all; there are many similar sites in the city which you can visit if you are keen on such exciting activities as the ones discussed here. In the next post I will revisit the Sea of Stars for what should be hopefully be the last time, before moving on to other things.
When: Some facilities, such as Sky Zone, do not even have fully air-conditioned interiors, and as such visiting them in the warmer months (especially the southern hemisphere summer, which starts in December and ends in February the next year) can be a more physically taxing experience than a winter visit. However, given that occasional cold spells can also cause discomfort, a spring or autumn date is most preferable.
Why: Remember the game show boom Nickelodeon went through in the 90s? Well, in the wake of a recent resurgence in shows such as this, not just America but also elsewhere (especially the British drone piloting contest, Airmageddon), it's quite possible that a similar phenomenon could occur in Australia and/or New Zealand. Considering that Sky Zone already has a local wall-running competition, a national-level dodgeball league (similar to the one which operates in the United States) would be a logical extension to their repertoire.
How: The competition would be spread out over the span of several days, with a few weeks of filming required. It is recommended that the chessboxing and basketball/netball events would be the last ones to take place, since they are the most physically demanding (they are actual sports, after all). The faster pace of the dodgeball, bowling and laser tag events would ensure that these should be the first ones to be held, given that viewers of this hypothetical program tend to have short attention spans.
Sounds like fun, don't you think? Unfortunately, Australian free-to-air TV networks are currently not interested in the idea of such a game show, and nor are the pay TV networks. However, you could extrapolate this idea to an action-packed, fun-filled travel plan for MacGregor: go to Sky Zone first, book 1-2 hours there (with a game of laser tag or two if you wish), then head across the street to AMF Bowling, and bowl for another hour, followed by a few more laser tag games and some arcade game action (although I am less interested in bowling than I once was, and would rather forgo it if I had little spare time left). You could even reverse the order in which the two facilities are visited. And that's not all; there are many similar sites in the city which you can visit if you are keen on such exciting activities as the ones discussed here. In the next post I will revisit the Sea of Stars for what should be hopefully be the last time, before moving on to other things.
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