“Centro is a prime example for our strategy of combining retail and hospitality with exceptional events, cultural and entertainment formats,” explains Paul-Eric Perchaud, Director of Operations at Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield Germany. “With the new EXPOHALLE and the cooperation with Explorado Group, we are further strengthening Centro as a supraregional leisure destination and offering our guests a further attraction.
The approximately 2,800 sq m EXPOHALLE, which is operated by Explorado Group, comprises the showroom with an area of over 2,000 sq m, a foyer, a shop and an office. The new hall is the result of an extensive conversion of former gastronomy areas. The first on-site event will be a “Smurfs” exhibition. “We are very proud to open our new EXPOHALLE with this extraordinary attraction. We couldn’t have found a better location for family entertainment than Centro and are delighted to be able to entertain visitors at a further location in the Ruhr area,” says Andreas Waschk, Managing Director of Explorado Group GmbH.
At the end of 2018, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield and Explorado Group were already cooperating at Centro and brought as a German premiere the successful “Game of Thrones: The Touring Exhibition” to Oberhausen for several months.
Family attraction “The Smurf Adventure” as first highlight
The family experience world was developed by the Belgian company Cecoforma. Visitors can experience adventures in the “Smurfs” world through interactive game and task stations involving augmented reality, 180-degree video productions or holograms.
“The fan community of the Smurfs extends all over the world and we are delighted to be able to reach as many of these fans as possible through this extraordinary world of experience,” says Stephan Uhoda, Managing Director of Ceceforma. “‘The Smurf Adventure’ was a great success in Belgium and France, and we are sure that we will inspire the German audience as well.”
Extended focus on leisure concepts
Also, in December 2019, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield announced that, together with virtual reality specialist The VOID, it would open an 830 sq m virtual reality world in front of Centro in the second quarter of 2020. “The interactive ‘Smurfs’ exhibition and the multisensory experience of The VOID fit in with our strategy of rethinking our destinations with unique events and innovative entertainment concepts,” explains Perchaud.
Flagship destination in the Ruhr area: Centro in Oberhausen
With a total area of 242,000 sq m, Centro in Oberhausen is the largest shopping and experience centre in Germany. Around 250 shops, including a total of 47 gastronomy concepts, a multifunctional hall with 12,500 seats, the Legoland® Discovery Centre and a cinema are located on the site. Over 20 million visitors are counted every year on the entire site. The direct surroundings in the district Neue Mitte also offer a theatre, a trampoline park, an aquarium as well as an adventure swimming pool and the well-known Oberhausen exhibition centre Gasometer. Direct motorway connections as well as tram and bus stops directly at the doorstep provide Centro with optimal connections to the regional and supraregional infrastructure.
