If you grew up in the 1990s, chances are you probably attended a birthday party or two at Fun Central. And, you were probably sad when you heard the place where you played your first round of mini golf or dueled family members in bumper boats closed.

But, be sad no more. DC Sports, a renovated facility with new management and new games, for both kids and adults, celebrated its opening Saturday and Sunday at the former Fun Central location on Route 9 in Wappingers Falls.

Visitors got a chance to take a peek at the full-service bar with flat screen TVs, and try out one of the facility’s many indoor golf simulators.

Owner Dan Pizzarelli said DC Sports will be both a sports bar and a family entertainment center, open year-round. Twelve indoor arcade games for children will be added this year, as well as skee-ball and race car simulators. This spring, the mini golf course will get a complete makeover and bumper boats will also reopen, he said. Currently, there are five PGA Golf Simulators, each with 60 courses, on 60-foot-wide screens.

“I think it is geared toward all families,” Pizzarelli, of Hyde Park, said. “There is a bar with a full kitchen, and you are allowed to take beer and wine through the whole facility, or you can stay in the bar area and hang out while the kids can go play mini golf or games by themselves.”

Management is looking at a number of ways to monitor alcohol use before the outdoor attractions are opened to patrons in the summer, Pizzarelli said.

Pizzarelli also has plans to remove the batting cages this summer to make way for a beach volleyball court, complete with tiki bar, live music and tournaments.

“In the spring we’re going to redo mini golf and bumper boats,” he said. “It’s going to be the same layout, but we’re going to change the aesthetics.”

Two kids’ “Birthday Party Fun Zones” are available for bookings. Adults and businesses can also book events and parties at the entertainment venue.

While some area residents expressed concern about a family facility allowing alcohol consumption, many posted enthusiastic messages about DC Sports’ opening on the Journal’s Facebook page Sunday. The property at 1630 Route 9 has been dormant since Fun Central closed its doors three years ago.

Doreen Giamportone said she has “Many good memories of my children and their friends there! So happy to hear that someone finally bought it!” Kristen McDonald simply said, “This is going to be so cool!”

Pizzarelli currently runs DC Golf, 10 Crannell St., Poughkeepsie. Now entering its fourth year of operation, the indoor golf facility, open October through April, now has eight simulators.

“(In our family) we like to do a lot of things that allow us to spend time with one another, so that’s what we had in mind for other families here,” Pizzarelli said.

Amanda J. Purcell: apurcell@poughkeepsiejournal.com; 845-437-4807; Facebook.com/pojopurcell; Twitter: @amandajpurcell 

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For video of DC Golf, visit www.PoughkeepsieJournal.com.