Sky Zone Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Sky Zone is an entertainment franchise operating indoor trampoline and adventure parks with attractions, foam pits, and party rooms. Franchisees run a park managing attractions, staff, birthday parties, and admissions.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Sky Zone franchise requires a total initial investment of $3.2M – $4.8M, including a $75K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $2.3M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 13.0% charge-off rate across 163 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $3.2M – $4.8M
- 53rd pct Recreation & …
- Avg gross sales
- $2.3M
- 13th pct Recreation & …
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 9th pct Recreation & …
- Units
- 245
- 51st pct Recreation & …
- SBA charge-off
- 13.0%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
Quick verdict · Recreation & Entertainment · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Recreation & Entertainment avg · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $3.2M – $4.8M including a $75K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $2.3M/year (median $2.1M), with an estimated 7% cash-on-cash return (based on EBITDA1).
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 63/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 13.0% across 163 loans (above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Sky Zone Franchise Group, LLC
- Parent company
- CircusTrix Holdings, LLC
- Ultimate parent
- Trampoline Acquisition Corp. (owned by Palladium Equity Partners IV LP)
- Predecessor
- None disclosed
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer, CTH
- David Hoffmann
- Incorporated in
- Missouri (redomesticating to Delaware in 2026)
- HQ
- 13155 Noel Road, Office Building 3, Suite #1750, Dallas, Texas 75240
- Auditor
- PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $20.6M
- vs $22.2M prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- David Hoffmann
- Headquarters
- Texas
- Founded
- 2008
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 39
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 198% above the typical recreation & entertainment franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $75K | $75K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $206K | $231K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $3.0M | $4.5M |
| Total initial investment | $3.2M | $4.8M |
Source: Sky Zone 2026 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $3.2M – $4.8M
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $206K – $231K
- Middle of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $75K – $75K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 3.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
- Payback period
- 14.7 yrs
- From FDD / Item 19
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 3.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $1K |
| Transfer fee | $38K |
| Renewal fee | $19K |
| Inventory (initial) | $32K – $49K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 113% above the recreation & entertainment norm.
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 19
Single-unit · not modelled
Returns at a glance
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit, and the operating costs that turn one into the other are in no filing. We publish no modelled return for Sky Zone until someone supplies them — yours, in the models below.
—
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
Total invested capital · disclosed
$4.2M
Item 7 initial investment plus working capital, as filed — the one figure here that needs no assumption.
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
FDD-reported earnings
The FDD reports $497K as EBITDA1. This is a disclosed figure, not our estimate — we publish no modelled profit for Sky Zone.
What one unit earns on your invested capital
Model A · Single-Unit Return
Computes unlevered return on invested capital (ROIC) for a single franchise unit, read against the 30–60% reference band · Yale SOM, Post-MBA Path Exhibit 2 (2023). Below that band a passive index fund likely outperforms; above it the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses, and it is the top line only — gross sales are not profit. No FDD discloses the operating costs that turn one into the other, so those fields start empty and nothing is modelled until you supply them from your own lease quote, labor market and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Sky Zone unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
What 25 units return when you use SBA financing
Model B · Return on Equity: Debt-Financed Acquisition
Models a 25-unit portfolio acquisition financed with an SBA 7(a) loan. Shows equity IRR (your return on cash invested), DSCR (how safely the cash flow covers debt service), and the capital stack (SBA + seller + equity breakdown).
This is the “search fund” or “entrepreneurship through acquisition” scenario: you buy an existing multi-unit operator, use leverage to amplify returns, and either operate or hire management. The 25-unit size is the typical minimum for an SBA-backed franchise portfolio acquisition to pencil as a full-time income.
What “return on equity” means here: if you put in $500K of your own cash and the business generates enough EBITDA to pay down debt and grow, your equity IRR is the annual return on that $500K, including the value created when you eventually sell. Target IRR for a search fund is typically 25–35%.
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
A 25-unit return is built on a per-unit EBITDA. Fill in the operating costs in Model A above and this model runs on that figure, or take the whole scenario to the full ROI workbench, where the portfolio and LBO models accept your own per-unit economics directly.
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2026 FDD
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $2.3M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $2.1M
- Avg ebitda1
- $497K
- Reported as EBITDA1 in FDD Item 19
- Cash-on-cash
- 6.8%
- Based on EBITDA1 / investment midpoint
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- Gross Sales and EBITDA (historical, three cohorts: Model Parks, all franchisee-owned Parks by size quartile, and Corporate Parks)
- Sample size
- 106 outlets
- vs category median 5 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $602K→$8.0M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2026
- Disclosed in the 2026 filing, covering 2025
- Transparency
- 7 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
Compared against 165 Recreation & Entertainment brands
Revenue is only 0.6x the investment. This means each unit may take 5+ years to recoup the initial outlay at typical margins.
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
Average unit generates $2.3M/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 0.6x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 8.0% (near the Recreation & Entertainment average).
Disclosure
Transparency score 7/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System roughly stable (+3.4% 3-year CAGR) with 245 units.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Recreation & Entertainment averages
How Sky Zone Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 245
- Opened
- 4
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 2
- Terminated
- 1
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 1
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 0.8%
- Company-owned
- 123
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 0%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +3.4%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +3.4%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 5
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 38 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator. Not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 163
- Loan volume
- $265.3M
- Median loan
- $1.4M
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 13.0%
- rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- 87.0%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 10.5%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 58
- Defaults
- 14
- Typical loan rate
- 5.8%
- avg rate to borrowers
- vs industry
- N/A
- NAICS 7139
- Jobs supported
- 4,465
- 4.3 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 13%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 0% went to startups / new businesses, 100% to established operators
Vintage analysis
Sky Zone charge-off rate by loan vintage
Top lenders financing Sky Zone franchisees
Showing 3 of 58 lenders. The full breakdown — every lender, state distribution, interest rates & risk ratings — is in the SBA Lending Report below.
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 13.0% — 19% below the 16.0% national norm, i.e. lower lender-observed risk.
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Litigation (Item 3)
Two concluded litigation/arbitration matters (Poole v. Platt/SFG settled for $828,426 in 2018; Ottway II arbitration settled in 2020 with $1,112,500 asset purchase) plus a 2023 California DFPI Consent Order against affiliate House of Trix, LLC for selling unregistered franchises ($5,000 penalty). No pending litigation.
Largest disclosed settlement: $1,112,500
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 63 / 100 verdict
- 01HIGHLitigation concluded/settled, not active
- 02MINORRoutine count relative to 234-unit system
- 03MEDItem 19 disclosed, audited
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 8.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Territory type | protected |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory population | 150,000 |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 15 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 6 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | City where franchisor's principal place of business is located (currently Dallas, Texas) |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Texas |
| Litigation count | 2 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Two concluded litigation/arbitration matters (Poole v. Platt/SFG settled for $828,426 in 2018; Ottway II arbitration settled in 2020 with $1,112,500 asset purchase) plus a 2023 California DFPI Consent Order against affiliate House of Trix, LLC for selling unregistered franchises ($5,000 penalty). No pending litigation.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 55 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 129 hrs
- Training location
- Sky Zone training park (eLearning and in-park)
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 15 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee finds and proposes site; franchisor evaluates and approves/rejects
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- SkyApp / POS System (Approved Vendor)
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: SkyApp / POS System (Approved Vendor)
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
143 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Sky Zone · FDD (2026) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Sky Zone franchise?
The total investment to open a Sky Zone franchise ranges from $3.2M – $4.8M, with an initial franchise fee of $75K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Sky Zone franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Sky Zone FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $2.3M. The median is $2.1M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Item 19 in the Sky Zone FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the Sky Zone FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Sky Zone's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Sky Zone has a charge-off rate of 13.0% across 163 loans, meaning 13.0% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many Sky Zone franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Sky Zone has 245 total units in the United States, including 122 franchised units and 123 company-owned units. 4 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Sky Zone a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Sky Zone as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 63 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
For franchisors
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.