'Little' Big Thrill Factory in the works for Canterbury Park

Big Thrill Factory — an entertainment complex with locations in Minnetonka and Oakdale — will open a smaller-format spot at the Canterbury Park horse-racing track on Memorial Day weekend.

Its indoor-outdoor space will have arcade games, miniature bowling and a wipeout trampoline.

"This is an opportunity for us to get some great exposure and add more great entertainment at Canterbury," Big Thrill Factory Owner Barry Zelickson said. "There can be a lot of downtime between races."

The Canterbury Big Thrill Factory will have around 1,500 square feet of indoor space. The wipeout trampoline will be outside.

"We also have the option to expand our operation outside with other attractions and we'll measure that during the summer," Zelickson said.

VSI Construction is the general contractor for the project.

Big Thrill Factory started at a former Kmart site in Minnetonka several years ago. It's second location recently opened in Oakdale. Those locations are much larger with around 40,000 square feet of indoor space, plus another 15,000 outside. Zelickson said the company wants to expand the Oakdale site by 4,000 square feet later this year.

Big Thrill Factory has been a hit with kids and young adults, Zelickson said, and he hopes the smaller-format location will hit a home run with family crowds visiting Canterbury in Shakopee.

Canterbury's live race meets start May 5 and run through September 16.

Reported by:  Bizjournals.com