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Franchisee Deny Gravity previously announced plans to invest $250,000-$400,000 upgrading Sky Zone.
Franchisee Deny Gravity previously announced plans to invest $250,000-$400,000 upgrading Sky Zone.

Landlord evicts Sky Zone franchisee

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Amid plans this summer to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on upgrades, Springfield’s Sky Zone franchise operation suddenly shuttered.

The closure of the 2765 S. Kansas Expressway indoor trampoline park comes after landlord Kansas Plaza 1 LLC won a judgment against franchisee Deny Gravity LLC last month in Greene County Circuit Court. The judgment handed down by Judge Michael Cordonnier requires Deny Gravity to pay $120,480 over “breaches of the lease agreement and personal guaranty.” Naming Deny Gravity co-owner Bryan Hendershot, the judgment also required the Sky Zone franchise to vacate the premises.

“Despite demand, Deny Gravity and Hendershot continue to fail and refuse to perform their respective obligations under the lease agreement and personal guaranty,” the judgment reads.

The defendants did not appear at a Nov. 7 hearing, according to the court document. Court records indicate the Greene County Sheriff’s Office on Dec. 10 served documents related to the landlord judgment.

Signage on the door of the local Sky Zone franchise indicates the business is closed and gives contact information for Deny Gravity Managing Partner Larry Haskett. Hendershot and Haskett could not be reached for comment by deadline. However, the Springfield Sky Zone confirmed the closure on its Facebook page.

“We really appreciate all of our guests over the years and will truly miss providing the community with a safe and fun place to play,” officials wrote in a post yesterday. “We are in the process of reaching out to every guest that had a party booked, all of our pass holders and all of our members to offer refunds on these things.”

In the June 28 Springfield Business Journal article, “Sky Zone franchisees plan 6-figure upgrades,” Hendershot said the Tulsa, Oklahoma, franchise group was working to upgrade the attraction to the tune of $250,000-$400,000.

The 19,000-square-foot building had been listed for sublease as the franchisees sought a new location, but Hendershot told SBJ that Sky Zone would remain in the building after there were no takers on the lease. The $1.6 million building was constructed in 2014, the same year Sky Zone opened there.

SBJ previously reported Deny Gravity had Sky Zone parks in Edmond, Oklahoma, and Colorado Springs, Colorado, in the works, in addition to its Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Irving, Texas, locations. Los Angeles-based Sky Zone operates over 300 locations in 16 international markets. The franchise generates more than $300 million in revenue, according to its website.

KY3 was first to report on the closure.

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