TEAM FEATURE – KAREN | March 16-22
While our renovations are moving forward, we thought we would start introducing our amazing Dayton team while we continue our rebuilding! Everyone, meet Karen!
“I am Karen Newell. I am the General Manager of Scene75 in Dayton. I have worked at Scene75 for almost three years.
People often ask me what attraction I like the best. It is hard to pick just one, but if I had to, it would be the Drop Tower. I love the way you can see so much of the facility when you are at the top. It gives you that tickle in your tummy.
The first time I walked into a Scene75, I thought Wow! This place is AWESOME! I had my 50th Birthday Party at Scene75 and it was honestly one of the most fun days of my life. I am so lucky that I get to work here. The thing I love the most is watching guests come in with their families. They are creating lasting memories. I do this with my family as well. We eat, drink, ride attractions, and play games. What is better than that?
Dayton is such a great community. Everyone pulls together and helps each other out. We have gotten so many emotional posts from guests that can’t wait until we reopen. I look so forward to our Grand Opening this Summer. I along with my coworkers miss the interaction with our guests. We will be bigger, better, and stronger!”
NEW PAINT JOB | December 9-15
Scene75 Dayton’s rebuild is coming along with a brand new look!
While renovations are still in the works in the interior, we decided to spruce things up on the exterior with a new, colorful paint job! Sticking with our brand, but with a little more pizazz, we think this look will catch some eyes from highway 75!
Our building won’t be complete without a new and improved Scene75 sign on the front of our building, which is also in the works! Every little step of the way counts in this rebuild and we are eager to be open for fun and entertainment once again!
We want to thank our friends, family, and our supporters for being so patient with us during this long process. Scene75 wouldn’t be what it is today without the passion of the Dayton community!
BACK TO THE BASICS | July 22-28
The building feels like a shell of its original self now that mostly everything is cleared out to make way for repair work on the walls from damage done by the flooding. It spans every wall around the building so it has been no easy task.
We’ve been working tirelessly to clear out all of the debris and damage and we’ve finally got the space emptied. The view of an empty Scene75 building is almost as shocking as seeing it in disarray. This is what we started with. Almost as if it never happened to begin with.
Walking through the doors, you are greeted with a big building housing giant blue tarp structures as its main patrons. The big blue mountains are all the games clustered together and hiding under plastic to save them from the clean-up work. It looks as though everything was just shipped in brand new, waiting to be plugged in for their very first game play.
There are no sounds of laughter or arcade games buzzing. No colorful lights flashing or go-kart wheels squealing. BUT… in the absence of the usual Scene75 hum there is a loud excitement still left in the air. The whole team talks about the next steps and how grand the new building is going to feel. What a bigger, better Scene75 building this is going to be and we can hardly wait!
We’re still a little ways away from the finished product but our eyes are on the prize. Every single day we are pushing as hard as we can. Every single day, the dream of opening back up gets closer and easier to see. We cherish the memories we had at our original building, but we are so excited for everyone to experience this new Scene75 Dayton. We can’t wait for the space to light up and feel like home again but this time, but this time better than ever before!
EXCITING THINGS TO COME | July 1-7
We are making our way back to up and running status! But this time Scene75 Dayton will be better than ever! When the tornado blew through Scene75, it decided to take major 40′ walls down with it. In true Scene75 resilient fashion, we are taking that devastating blow and turning into an enormous positive. With the new massive space opened up, we are planning to incorporate attractions larger than any other rides seen at our facilities.
While we sort through all of the paperwork and logistics, our art department has been hard at work branding these HUGE new attractions. We wanted to give you all a sneak peak into one of our favorite new additions. Can you guess what it is?
We’ll give you a few hints… it’s as big as a tidal wave and as fast as a Tsunami! Stay tuned for more!
SHUFFLING THINGS AROUND | June 24-28
The game floor feels a little out of sorts this week. We keep moving large games and attractions around so that we can fix the roof here or move the games there. The colorful Spin Zone Bumper Cars that usually bounce around in the back part of the building are now hibernating up front outside of the restaurant.
Most of the arcade games have been shuffled around to corners just so that they are out of the way for the cleaning crew to come through. And although the space feels like a bit like an arcade game graveyard at the moment there is one warm, new addition to the building…
WE HAVE POWER!
Let this sign be a beacon in the storm that we mean business when we say we’re coming back bigger, better, and stronger! The front half of the building is busy with cleanup, the back larger half awaits its grand plans for rebuild.
Stay tuned! We promise you won’t be disappointed with all of the alterations we have in store. We have spent hours planning our next step for that half of the building and they are being mapped out as you read this.
TIME TO GET TO WORK | June 3-10
Within the first few days, we had almost all of our proud team members asking what they could do to help from mopping up water to moving redemption items into containers. We had assembly lines of box movers sweating but smiling all the way down our warehouse.
It really is heart-warming to feel all of the comradery in our building. The spirit of our team has always been a strong one. When you work late shifts regularly, put in hours every weekend, and not to mention, spend most of your life in a giant entertainment center, you develop a unique work-hard, play-hard mentality.
The Scene Team has always been down for some hard work and long days, but this brings it to an entirely new level. Our Dayton team’s work life has been flipped upside down, yet there is not a single complaint to be heard. No more tears, only excitement. Every single floor panel ripped up, every piece of wreckage moved is only a symbol of rebirth. A chance to come back stronger.
THE BEGINNING | May 2019
To clear up a few things about Scene75 Dayton, certain news stories shared that we suffered light damage, while others reported that our building no longer exists. Neither is accurate. To end any rumors that may be out there, photos will be attached to this blog post that sheds light on the damage we suffered.
Large portions of our roof blew away and sprinkler pipes broke – flooding much of the building. Several air conditioning units are no longer on our roof and frankly, can’t be found. Walls that once stood nearly 36 feet tall crumbled to the ground.
It was a hard sight to see. This building has been home to hundreds of thousands of happy memories shared between friends, parents, families, and colleagues for almost seven years. To see such a large space usually filled with vibrant energy, flashing lights and the sound of laughter, now engulfed in water, debris and the repeating sound of the fire alarms ringing through the space felt cold and wrong.
It didn’t take but a few hours for our dedicated and fun-loving team to shake the shock and start filling the empty feeling building with laughter and comrade as our entire upper management team immediately went to work cleaning up the parking lot and helping wherever they could.
So where does this leave us?
While our team suffers in disbelief, there is no time for us to stand still. As many of our team members wade through and inventory the wreckage, another group of us have assembled (in a still wet room inside the building) plans for the rebuild. Scene75 Dayton is on the verge of being bigger and better than ever — wait till you see what we have in mind! While we work to revamp our Dayton location over the coming months, all other Scene75 locations remain open and eager for you to visit.
Dayton organizations still striving to help our city get back up on its feet
The Humane Society of Greater Dayton