SALEM — Urban Air Adventure Park has opened its first Oregon location in Salem, bringing a new indoor entertainment option to Lancaster Drive and giving local families another place for year-round, in-person activity.
The new park, located at 1264 Lancaster Dr. SE, opened to the public over the weekend with an opening-day promotion that included free socks and ICEEs for the first 50 guests who purchased a day pass. The Salem Area Chamber of Commerce promoted the opening as a soft-opening celebration, with a formal ribbon cutting scheduled later this month.
For franchise owners Drew and Betty Thomas, the Salem park started with a birthday party in Texas.
Drew Thomas said he and his wife had been looking for a business to invest in when he took his daughter to a party at an Urban Air location. The place was packed, he said, and it stood out as the kind of active, indoor gathering space families were still looking for — especially at a time when parents often struggle to find activities that get kids away from screens and into real-world play.
That impression eventually led the Thomases to Salem.
The couple still spends part of their time in Texas, where their daughter is in school, but they now split their lives between Texas and Oregon. Thomas said the family has come to love the Pacific Northwest, the people in Salem and the quality of life here. Their daughter is expected to work at the Salem location this summer, giving her a chance to learn job skills, spend time in the family business and experience the community her parents are now investing in.
Urban Air’s Salem location includes attractions such as a ropes course, Sky Rider, dodgeball, climbing walls, bumper cars, trampolines, slides and other active-play features. The company markets its parks as more than trampoline centers, with a business model built around open play, birthday parties, memberships and group events.
The Salem opening also marks a business milestone for Urban Air, which announced in January that the local franchise agreement would bring the brand into Oregon for the first time. The company has described the expansion as part of a broader push into the Pacific Northwest.
“We’re thrilled to bring Urban Air to Oregon for the first time,” Mandy Dowson, group president of Urban Air Adventure Park, said in the company’s original announcement. “Expanding into Oregon marks an exciting milestone for us as we continue to grow our brand in the Pacific Northwest and create new opportunities for franchise owners and communities.”
The opening-day celebration also included a free raffle valued at $50,000, with four “Golden Tickets” awarded for year-long unlimited passes. The winners were David Bates, Sophia Bergerson-Bates, Colby Bates and Zeke Bates.
Thomas also credited the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce for helping welcome the business into the community. He said the family is looking forward to getting to know Salem and becoming part of the local business landscape.
For Salem families, the opening adds another indoor recreation option on the east side of town — one designed to stay busy regardless of Oregon’s weather.
