New arcade open at Derby Club, bowling alley and restaurant to come!
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| A view of the new arcade in the Derby Club - Optopolis |
A brand new arcade with VR laser tag, classic laser tag, and escape rooms just softly opened at Derby Club. A new bowling alley and a restaurant are both currently in the process of being built inside of the building, too!
History of the building
777 Derby Club/307 Horse Racing is inside of the old Montgomery Ward building on E Pershing Blvd, located just west of the Pershing Plaza. The Montgomery Ward building was built in the 1960s. In recent years prior to 777 Derby Club's opening, office space (used by services including Wyoming Department of Workforce Services and Wyoming Department of Family Services) made up the building.
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| A view of the Cheyenne Business Center in 2011 - Google Maps Street View |
Based on city directories from the last century, Montgomery Ward was noted as present in the building until at least the late 1990s. According to Groceteria, the Cheyenne store closed in January 1999. After that point, the building was commonly referred to as the Cheyenne Business Center (as can be seen in 2011 Google Maps Street View).
The Wyoming Department of Workforce Services was relocated to the former Sutherland's (also former Kmart) on Yellowstone Road near Manewal Dr back in late 2019, while Wyoming Department of Family Services remained in the northern part of the building--until more recently. Wyoming DFS relocated in 2023 to 1022 Airport Pkwy in the building to the east of the Cheyenne Regional Airport Administration building.
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| Wyoming Department of Workforce Services (former Sutherland's/Kmart) on Yellowstone Road when under construction in late 2019 - Optopolis |
In 2022, 777 Derby Club/307 Horse Racing began setting up the first part of their fifth off-track-betting facility in the former Montgomery Ward, and the facility opened later that year.
Going into 2023, and Derby Club would expand inside of the building with a packaged liquor store on the west side of the building that opened late that year, even featuring a drive thru.
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| Derby Club Discount Liquors sign posted near 777 Derby Club - Optopolis |
Construction work continued happening inside of the other parts of the former Montgomery Ward building, especially including the upstairs area that would soon be occupied by an arcade. Arcade staff shared that the arcade had just opened last Friday (which was January 26th, 2024).
The arcade is now open!
Walking inside the south-facing main entry to the former Montgomery Ward, you'll notice a stairway down the hall just behind some glass doors. Head up the set of stairs, and you'll be taken directly to the brand new arcade.
The first thing guests are likely to notice is the virtual reality laser tag section and the prize counter. The arcade has many of the games that arcades typically have including air hockey, skee ball, and various other mini-games.
Next to the arcade, there is a classic laser tag area with a darkened arena. And just down the hall next to the classic laser tag are the escape rooms. There are three escape rooms where--for those who aren't aware--one must solve a series of puzzles in order to accomplish a goal (or escape). Each of the three rooms features a different theme.
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| A view inside the bank/bar-themed escape room, room 2 - Optopolis |
Arcade staff shared that, during this soft opening, they are currently working out any small kinks and bugs with the arcade.
Bowling alley and restaurant to come.
At the arcade, a worker shared that construction is taking place on a brand new bowling alley and a new restaurant. Drawings included in permits submitted to the Cheyenne City Planning website indicate that the restaurant will be built below the arcade on the main level, just to the left of the main stairway, along with the main bowling alley.
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| A view of the portion of the former Montgomery Ward where the main bowling alley is planned to reside - Google Maps Street View |
The drawings found inside of the permit items for the bowling alley and restaurant indicate that there will be 18 regular bowling lanes that will be called "Derby Lanes." In addition, the drawings indicate that there will be four lanes of "mini bowling" and eight lanes of "duck pin lanes." According to Cowboy State Daily, the bowling alley is set to open in fall 2024.
The restaurant is expected to include a bar in addition to the kitchen and seating; the bar will be called Derby Club Lounge. Party rooms can be found throughout the entire project including ones that are already built next to the arcade upstairs.
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| Party rooms 1 and 2 in the arcade upstairs - Optopolis |
There's also an area near the northeast corner of the building that will be called "Play Gym," which appears to be an area specifically for kids.
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