Episode 20 - Operator Spotlight: Electric Bat Arcade
Podcast
Wedgehead Pinball Podcast
49 min
Summary
Electric Bat Arcade operators discuss venue-based business model, splits, and community tournament strategy.
Alan from Wedgehead Pinball Podcast interviews Kale and Rachel, owners of Electric Bat Arcade in Tempe, Arizona, about operating a flagship arcade venue plus a secondary location in Flagstaff. They discuss the business model of venue-based arcades versus route operators, tournament formats (IFPA vs. casual), revenue splits with location partners, and how their community-focused approach differs from other markets.
Highlights
- Electric Bat Arcade opened in September 2018 (Rachel opened it; Kale joined later)
- Electric Bat has two locations: Tempe (flagship, ~5M metro population) and Flagstaff (~76K population, 2.5 hours north, 7,000 ft elevation)
- Rachel was a professional oil painter and initially consulted on the arcade before becoming operator
- Electric Bat expanded on New Year's Eve (one year prior to podcast) adding 60 pinball and ~20 video games
- Electric Bat and Wedgehead Pinball opened within 5 days of each other (Sept 11 vs Sept 16, 2018) and started podcasts on the same day without communicating
- Electric Bat operates 50-50 revenue splits with some machine owners at the venue, won't go below 75-25 for external route operations
- Portland route operators traditionally used 50-50 splits; now standard is 60-40; East Coast and Midwest operators report 75-25 or 80-20
- Sopranos pinball earns consistently high in Portland despite not being critically acclaimed
- Electric Bat Tuesday league night regularly draws 100+ players (113 last night mentioned)
- Electric Bat maintains machines with 24-hour repair standard; fixes are done promptly to keep games playable
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