After Belgium: Sparkx to Open Its First Location in the Netherlands
Photo: Courtesy of Sparkx
(eap) Less than three years after opening its first sportainment park in Hasselt, the Belgian Sparkx group is pressing ahead with its expansion and entering a foreign market for the first time. Later this year, the first Sparkx sportainment park outside Belgium is scheduled to open in Nieuwegein, south of Utrecht in the Netherlands. With this project, the company’s portfolio will grow to a total of four parks. Following Hasselt, a second location opened in Ghent, while a third park is set to launch shortly in Antwerp. Covering 7,500 square metres, the Nieuwegein facility will also be the provider’s largest sportainment park to date. Since its foundation, the Sparkx group has been able to rely on the support of numerous advocates and ambassadors, including customer experience and digital specialist Steven Van Belleghem as well as Belgian professional footballers Dante Vanzeir, Maarten Vandevoordt and Mousa Dembélé.
“The opening of a park in the Netherlands marks a new step in Sparkx’s growth strategy. It will be our first international park. The popularity we quickly gained in Belgium convinced us that demand for diverse yet accessible sporting activities is also strong at an international level. […] We see Nieuwegein and the Utrecht region as an ideal springboard to realise our future international ambitions,” said Mathieu Renier, CEO of Sparkx.
For the new project, the operating group recently signed a lease agreement with the owners of the Beursfabriek event location site in Nieuwegein, Edwin Loeff and Gertjan van de Wal, where the park is set to be created. The company intends to begin construction works before the summer. The opening is scheduled for autumn 2026. ■
