Go Time! Family Fun to open in mid-December
Putt-putt golf, go-karts and arcade games are coming back to Rome when Go Time! Family Fun opens in mid-December.
The facility, formerly known as Putt-Putt and Games, is now owned by Go Time Inc. out of North Carolina. The group purchased the property at 3349 Alabama Highway in August.
The Doegg family used to own the property, though Putt-Putt and Games has been closed for several years.
General Manager Kevin Dickey said the new-look location will feature attractions similar to the old facility.
There will still be a game room featuring retro arcade games, air hockey and other games. Also staying are the reservation-only birthday party rooms in the back of the main building. The six batting cages will be back as well.
In the main room, there is an area to collect prizes and space for dining. Dickey is installing a kitchen that will serve pizza, hamburgers, hot dogs, slushies and Pepsi products.
The putt-putt course has been pressure washed, sand blasted and repainted from bright orange to blue. A few modifications are in the works as well.
“We’re putting the course back together,” he said. “We’re redesigning a few of the holes.”
There will also be a special memorial with decorative rocks and a plaque to honor the former owner Donald Doegg, who passed away recently.
The quarter-mile go-kart track will be back in full swing also, this time with brand new go-karts.
“One of my partners involved in this actually manufacturers gokarts in North Carolina,” Dickey said. “We’re going to have all new go-karts. We’ll probably have eight or more single-rider go-karts and eight or more double-rider
go-karts. They’ll be gas powered because those sound cooler.”
Unfortunately, laser tag will not be returning. However, Dickey said there will be a new game he believes people will love even more — Battle Ball.
“It’s essentially indoor paint ball but with nerf balls,” he said.
Players will wear colored vests and carry nerfball guns in a neon-lit
arena. Each time a player gets hit in the vest by a nerf ball, it registers as a point on the other team’s scoreboard. The team with the most points win.
The facility is slated to open around winter break in mid-December.
Dickey has heard the stories of how special Putt-Putt and Games was years ago. He is hopeful that
Go Time! Family Fun will live up to that legacy.
“I have been so encouraged by this community,” Dickey said. “I’ve probably talked to 100 different people about this project, and everybody gets really excited. I always hear some kind of story like them taking their kids here, their grandkids here and someone even met their wife here. It’s really been touching to hear.”