Ohio Valley Mall welcomes Dig Zone to lineup
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ST. CLAIRSVILLE - The newest tenant of the Ohio Valley Mall, Dig Zone, aims to provide area families affordable fun.
The new play facility is located at the former Pixel Hearts Games location in the mall and has a 900-square-foot sandbox filled with 25 tons of sand that allows children to play and build in. The sand area also has various Tonka trucks and shovels for the children to play with.
Owner Eric Conner said that he came up with the idea of the business roughly eight months ago while in the greater Columbus area. He said that while visiting the area with his family, they discovered a similar business which sparked his interest in bringing the Dig Zone to the Ohio Valley.
Conner also owns Ohio Valley Foamz, a traveling company that offers foam parties for rent in the months of May through September.
He said that he is passionate about providing people of all ages with entertainment without breaking the bank.
"We just saw the opportunity and wanted to jump on it. When it comes to children’s entertainment in this area there’s really nothing, Commer said. "I have two kids, and we have to drive an hour to Pittsburgh or two hours to Columbus to do something with them."
On Monday, the new business hosted its soft opening that Conner deemed a big success. He said the soft opening saw double the amount of customers he was expecting.
"We just want to have a place where local families can come in and have fun with their kids and be affordable for everybody," Conner said.
Although the Dig Zone is open for business; its official grand opening will be Oct. 12. Conner said that the Oct. 12 opening will be an event featuring various activities yet to be announced.
Ohio Valley Mall Marketing Director Candi Noble-Greathouse said that the mall is thrilled to have the Dig Zone as a tenant.
"We’re excited because it's going to be just one more place for kids and families to come and have fun," Noble-Greathouse said. "Our tagline is 'Shop, Dine, Play, and Stay,' so this is just one more place for kids and families to have some fun, and this is really great because it's really geared for the little ones.”
She added the mall is continuing to expand and evolve and the Dig Zone is the newest addition that provides fun for children while parents are out shopping.
"We have the kid zone, Iron Blast Games, Tilt, and now the Dig Zone. There's lots of different things to do here at the mall," Noble-Greathouse said.
The Dig Zone operates on normal mall hours which are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays.
Pricing for the Dig Zone for one child is $12 per half an hour, $16 per hour, $21 for 2 hours, and an additional hour for $5 extra.
Conner said that after the purchase for one child to play in the sand area that an additional child's time will cost $10 for a half hour, $12 per hour, and $17 for two hours.
He added that if a third child wants to play then the price of the third child will cost $10 no matter how long they want to play with the other two.