Carson City Planning Commission approves Virtual Reality Arcade aimed at teens
Submitted by Kelsey Penrose on Fri, 09/02/2022 - 12:25pm
System’s Edge LLC was approved for a Special Use Permit (SUP) from the Carson City Planning Commission to establish a Virtual Reality Arcade at 1087 S. Carson Street.
The location, which is inside the office park in front of Red’s Old 395 Grill, is zoned Downtown Mixed-Use, of which an “amusement arcade” is a conditional use.
The applicant is proposing to create a virtual reality arcade with 8 stations and a gathering area for waiting customers. The stations are contained within cubicles, along with a dedicated area on the second floor containing couches and coffee tables, used for “socializing and studying.”
The arcade will be located inside of an existing suite within the office park.
Commissioners asked how the applicant would handle parking, to which the applicant replied that the estimated 20-30 people per day who would use the facility would not be doing so at once, but rather would be spread out throughout the day and should not cause an increase in parking traffic at the location.
“We also plan to have our peak hours after most other businesses have closed,” said the applicant.
As the Virtual Reality facility is aimed towards teens, the facility would generally open after school hours at 3 p.m. and close around 11 p.m. except for specific events.
Commissioners also asked what health precautions the facility would undertake to protect users sharing VR googles and gaming accessories.
“Individuals using the headsets will receive help putting them on if they need it, or they can put them on themselves, but in between use there is a magnetic facemark inside the headset that is removable, and will be taken into a backroom, cleaned, dried, and swapped out,” said the applicant.
Commissioners voted unanimously to approve the Special Use Permit.
It is unknown at this time when the Virtual Reality Arcade will open, but Carson Now will update when that information becomes available.
Prior to the meeting, public notices were mailed to 75 property owners within 600 feet of the subject site on Aug. 17, and no written comments have been returned since that time, according to staff.
To read the application in full, please click here.
