Proposal has Greenfield's laser focus

Greenfield - A laser tag/go kart proposal has started through Greenfield's approval process at LightSpeed.

The Plan Commission liked the idea of the entertainment facility and sent it on to a public hearing on issuing a special-use permit in either mid-August or September.

The entertainment venue, LightSpeed, would be at 4251 S. 27th St., where Halloween Express is now. Owner Jon Majdoch plans to move his Halloween Express to make room for his new LightSpeed enterprise.

The only thing on the horizon slowing the idea down right now is parking. City officials need confirmation that Majdoch and the owner of the business next door, Braeger Chevrolet, Ford and Mitsubishi, have agreed that LightSpeed can use some excess parking at Braeger.

In fact, parking might limit the number of LightSpeed patrons, said Chuck Erickson, director of economic development and planning. Other spillover parking areas are not available, he said, and street parking will not work.

Under the proposal, laser tag would be played in a maze called "the arena" of about 4,000 square feet with a life-size video screen. In the futuristic labyrinth filled with unfreindlies that the game creates, players would be armed with high-tech laser weaponry and on a mission to capture the enemy base. Pulsating music, sirens and intermittent flashes of light would bombard the players.

The go-karts would navigate a half-mile course at speeds of more than 20 mph with drivers having the best speed winning. Because these go-karts would be electric, they can be slowed or even stopped via remote control by employees to ensure safety.

- Jane Ford-Stewart