An Edmonton mall is welcoming a tenant unlike any it’s ever had before.
On Nov. 3, a fully equipped, 50,000-square-foot Ninja Warrior-style obstacle complex will open on the second floor of Kingsway Mall.
“We’re really excited,” said Greg Burns, the mall’s marketing director.
“This is the largest indoor obstacle course in Canada. First one in the city, ever, in Edmonton. It actually acts as a national qualifier for the Canadian Ninja Warrior series.”
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The course has options for adults of all skill levels as well as a kids’ course.
“This is for fitness enthusiasts, fitness beginners. This is for children,” Tim Gourlay, CEO and founder of Fitset, said.
“This is for people in the mall who just want to get a break from Christmas shopping to go throw axes or break a TV in the rage room.”
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Gourlay tested out the obstacles on Thursday, and the course literally took his breath away.
“It’s the first time I’ve ran it all the way through,” he said. “It was tough. I went as hard as I could at the start and on the walls at the end, I was feeling it.”
This type of activity is becoming increasingly popular thanks in part to rising interest in obstacle course races and TV shows like American Ninja Warrior.
“A lot of our members on the Fitset pass are obstacle course racers,” Gourlay said.
“They go to these Spartan races and Tough Mudders and are really training all the time. I really wanted to bring this obstacle course experience indoors during the winter.”
The course has an agreement to stay in Kingsway — in part of the old SEARS location — until 2019, but both Gourlay and Burns hope that will be extended.
“We’ve had no other retailer like this of any kind,” Burns said. “That’s what we’re all about; trying to offer new experiences that no other shopping centre in Canada can offer.”