Nomads Plans Aerial Park in South Windsor

South Windsor's Nomads Adventure Quest, which calls itself New England’s largest indoor family entertainment facility, is moving outdoors.

The company, which also owns Revolutions Bowling and Lounge next door to its entertainment center on Bidwell Road, recently got approval from the town Planning and Zoning Commission to build an aerial park.

The park, planned for a spring 2014 opening, will include six zip line trails and a ropes course, climbing up to 70 feet high over a pond. The park will offer 84 challenges for a variety of skill levels.

The pond brought the Nomads developers to the idea of the aerial park, since the land, on the northern side of Governors Highway, includes wetlands that cannot be built upon.

Still, this type of entertainment is a growing trend across the country. Ski resorts have been installing them to attract business in the offseason and companies are using them for team-building exercises.

Neighbors, who already had complaints about noise at the existing facilities, voiced concerns about the plan exacerbating the problems, about kids trespassing at night and getting hurt and about possible fire hazards.

To counter that and ensure everyone’s safety, the zoning commission attached conditions to the approval.

“It does seem like it’s something that the people of South Windsor would want to enjoy,” said zoning commission Chairman Bart Pacekonis. “Time will tell whether or not it’s successful.”

“There were concerns from an abutting neighbor regarding trespassing and the possibility of fire so we tried to meet those concerns with approval conditions,” Pacekonis said. “We were trying to address the needs of the community and based on the information we got, we did the best we could.”

Calls to Nomads for comment were not returned.

Correction: The article incorrectly stated the location of the park.