Sky Zone Franchisee On Track to More Than Double California Portfolio | Franchise News








Mo Zia, Sky Zone franchisee

Mo Zia, top row and third from left, with his team at one of his Sky Zone parks. Zia owns five Sky Zones, four in Southern California and one in Las Vegas. He has plans to open six more parks in the next two years.


Sky Zone franchisee Mohammed “Mo” Zia began his career at Southern California Edison where he played a crucial role in pioneering the utility industry’s transition to a smart grid. He later joined PricewaterhouseCoopers, advising utilities on smart grid initiatives.

But as much as he enjoyed making a positive impact on the environment, Zia couldn’t help but think that something important was missing.

“Being in technology wasn’t a customer facing job for me. What I love about being a Sky Zone owner is seeing the smiles we bring to kids and families. That makes it enjoyable for me,” said Zia who owns four Sky Zone parks in Southern California and another park in Las Vegas.

A Sky Zone franchisee for five years, Zia plans to open six more indoor trampoline parks in Pico Rivera, Walnut Creek, Culver City/West Los Angeles, California, this year and in Bakersville and Burbank/Glendale, California, in 2026 and in Pasadena/Arcardia, California, in 2027.







Mo Zia

Sky Zone franchisee Mo Zia bought his first park in Cerritos, California, in 2019. He now owns five Sky Zones and has plans to open another six in the next two years. 


Zia began growing his portfolio of Sky Zones soon after buying his first park, an existing location in Cerritos, California, in 2019. Over the following two years he acquired existing parks in Las Vegas and in Ventura, California. Last March he built a new park in Alhambra, California, and in June acquired an existing park in Miramar, California, in a growing neighborhood north of San Diego.

Zia said the gross revenues of three of his five parks are operating above the systemwide average of $2.3 million, with his Alhambra location being his best performing park. Cerritos is next, with revenue “20 and 30 percent better than the average of all our parks,” said Zia.

Zia’s Sky Zones varies in size from 30,000 square feet to a 48,000-square-foot new park being built in Walnut Creek. He said that he employs 280 to run his parks.

“The bigger your park is the more attractions you can fit inside and the more customers you can accommodate. But since our parks have very different demographic markets and the space limitations vary, we have to adjust our revenue goals for them,” he said.

“We feel confident we can improve the bottom line at existing parks we acquire by making some basic changes. We start by cleaning things up inside and updating the attractions. One thing I realized throughout my career is the best way to improve things is people change. We’ll bring in new management and leadership where needed and that leads to changing the entire culture at a park,” Zia said.

To help ensure his Sky Zones are running well and on staying on track, Zia said he regularly visits each one. He said he’ll put on sunglasses when entering a park so no one recognizes him and makes notes on how clean the facilities are kept, the quality of the food being served and how well the staff responds to the needs of customers.

“I went to know that our people are greeting the customers and are friendly and helpful. But first, I want to know our parks are super clean and the attractions are being maintained and staffed properly for safety,” said Zia, a member of Sky Zone’s franchise advisory council.

With existing franchisees like Zia adding to their portfolio of parks, Sky Zone continues to grow. The Provo, Utah-based company that’s owned by CircusTrix and backed by private equity firm Palladium Equity Partners, moved up 21 spots to land at No. 148 on the Franchise Times Top 400 with $504.4 million in revenue. It added nine locations in 2024 to get to 250 total units and is anticipating another 20 parks in 2025, said Sky Zone President Mike Revak.

Depending on the size of the park, the initial investment range for a Sky Zone is $2.2 million to $4.7 million.

“I’ve been doing this for a long time, since 2012, and I don’t remember seeing this much interest before” from new franchisees, Revak said. He estimated 70 percent of last year’s unit growth came from new operators and that Sky Zone’s overall park membership is nearing 600,000. 

“We used to sell mainly single units and now we’re getting away from that and looking to bring in franchisees interested in opening more than one park. Some of our newer franchisee groups are buying five- and 10-pack development deals,” Revak said. “Franchisees continue to see the demand for family entertainment parks in their communities.”



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