A New Fun Spot in Covington
The Urban Air Adventure Park, a popular franchise across the United States, is set to offer an array of exciting activities including bumper cars, trampolines, climbing walls, virtual reality games, a ropes course, and a “drop zone” where kids can jump, flip, and dive into a giant inflatable airbag. Alongside it, the Goldfish Swim School, another franchise managed by the same ownership group, will provide swim lessons and water safety instruction to children as young as four months old.
Both ventures officially opened their doors on Tuesday and are operated by Rachelle Nurse and Joe Goodly, a husband-and-wife duo who also run Urban Air parks in Beaumont, Texas, and western New York State.
The swim school is a $3 million investment employing 30 people, according to Nurse, while the adventure park is a $6.5 million project with a staff of 80. The couple’s decision to establish their businesses in Covington was significantly influenced by Goodly’s Louisiana roots. “It had all to do with the fact that my husband’s from Louisiana,” Nurse said. “It’s a family-friendly community. It’s a close-knit community. It’s a community where this is a much-needed addition — it’s family entertainment that’s good for the entire family.”
This opening marks the first Louisiana location for Goldfish Swim Schools and the second for Urban Air, which already has a location in Denham Springs. Urban Air is currently operational, although they are still awaiting the delivery of go-karts. Nurse expects a grand opening event for the business by the end of the month.
Mike Saucier of Gulf State Real Estate and Construction Services previously informed The Times-Picayune that his company acquired the 58,000-square-foot building at 50 Park Place, adjacent to Home Depot and near Walmart, in a multi-million-dollar deal. The space was vacated by Rouses in October 2022.
The agreement that led to the launch of these businesses took eight years to materialize, according to Saucier. His company has developed locations for Rouses and was approached by the supermarket chain when it decided to close several stores, including the one at 50 Park Place. Saucier is hopeful that the swim school and adventure park will attract families from across the north shore. “This checks the entertainment box,” Saucier told The Times-Picayune in 2022. “It fills a gap and brings us up to the level of other cities.”
Goodly’s personal motivation for opening the swim school is deeply rooted in a family tragedy—his cousin drowned in Sulphur several years ago, Nurse explained. She emphasized that drowning is one of the leading causes of accidental death among children, and through promoting swim safety, she and Goodly hope to prevent such tragedies. “A community of this size really needs a place where they can learn based on a science-based curriculum,” Nurse said. “We want to do our part to get swim safety out to the community.”
