Last week I discovered that Bally’s Le Mans, one of the oldest arcades in the Oklahoma City area, has closed its doors. (Technically it didn’t have doors since it was located at Crossoads Mall, but you get the idea. They’re gone.)
Bally’s Le Mans was originally Le Mans Speedway, an indoor go-cart race track that was installed sometime during the late 70s. Eventually the race track was removed to make room for arcade games and the word “Speedway” was dropped from the name, leaving us with simply Le Mans. At some point during its lifetime Le Mans was purchased by Bally’s. I believe Namco has a stake in the arcade too, as all the tokens say Namco and have Pac-Man on them.
As I waxed about in Invading Spaces, Le Mans was the first place I ever saw Dragon’s Lair, the big dual-monitor version with a second monitor bolted to the top of the cabinet that allowed the gathering masses to see the action. There was definitely a crowd gathered around the machine, I remember. In seventh grade (1985/1986) one of my friends had his birthday party at Le Mans. It was at that party that we discovered Gauntlet. Due to low party attendance we ended up with around twenty bucks worth of tokens each, most of which were pumped into Gauntlet that day. Le Mans was the first place I ever saw the sit down version of S.T.U.N. Runner, too. Lots of good memories there.
The southside of Oklahoma City, specifically the area around Crossroads Mall, “ain’t what it used to be.” According to several websites, the mall has been taken over by gangs. Car break-ins are a daily occurance and in 2006, one gang member shot another one directly in front of the arcade in May of 2006 (the shooter was shot and killed in the mall by an off-duty sherrif’s deputy. Many businesses and mall patrons have not forgot about the incident. Last year JCPenneys left and this year Macy’s pulled out of the mall. Also in 2008, the Extreme indoor putt-putt course (where Mason had his birthday in 2006), Subway, and Sbarro’s have all left, too. Most of the web entries I found regarding Crossroads Mall describe it as a “dangerous ghost town”.
I didn’t take the following picture. I found it on Photobucket posted by a fellow named Rifter and used it simply because with Le Mans closed I have no reason to ever visit Crossroads Mall ever again, but here it is. Rest in peace, Le Mans.
Awww. An end of an era. Le Mans was a pinnacle to arcade fans. It has seen its glory days come and go. I wonder if it will re-open further north of the city? Oh, well … there’s always Cactus Jacks. Quail Springs still has TILT.
It was owned and operated by Namco. The rent and staff costs more than what it made, namco secured a huge contract with Walmart taking over from the sugar loaf vending company in the northern states, non performing Namco arcades were closed and the machines shopped and are ending up being relocated to other locations.
namco does however still have Arcades in Tulsa and Bartlesville.
Tilt amazes me that it keeps going, what with the poor maintained games and clueless staff. i think their only saving grace in quail springs mall is that the location is right next to the shitters so the rent is somewhat less since its hardly a desired location for the new victorias secret!
I found my floorplans for my bricktown “Gamestown” arcade last week, im sure if I do the numbers again it will be double maybe more than what it was 5 years ago. unfortunately games are now an adddition to a business and not a business on their own.
Wow, that’s really sad. That was the first arcade that I ever set foot in. I have so many great memories of my grandparents taking me to the sugar cookie place down and across the way from there, then the old Hobby Shop that had all the D&D stuff in it (when it went out of business Extreme Indoor Putt-Putt took its place), and finally Bally’s. I have such a vivid memory of that place… how dark it was inside, the smell of grease and oil from the race track, the loudness of the cars and the chiming games everywhere…. How big and never-ending the place seemed to such a little kid… the greasy, sweaty feel of the joysticks on most of the games…. Maybe this last one is a false memory, but I could almost swear that there was also some kind of electrical clacking/sparking in there… actually maybe it was coming from the cars come to think of it.
I have heard rumors that Crossroads may be closing entirely in the next few years.
according to the mall management, they refused to lower the rent so when the lease came up Namco told them where to stick it.
Subway has also closed down in that mall.
The last time I went to Crossroads was the last time! I feel very insecure there (unsafe!) and that’s on the inside. The outside parking lots require heavy arms! Another footnote: the deputy that shot the gang member was then reassigned to our school to work as campus security. No one knew he was the “shooter” until he started telling it. He was reassigned shortly thereafter. I’m older, and I remember when they built Crossroads. State of the art and putting outdoor malls out of business. It will be closed shortly I’m sure, as it’s mostly empty now. The end of another era. Mom
Sad, and I think every city in the United States has a story like it. I think the only mall with an arcade left near me is the rapidly declining Crestwood Plaza, which has (or had) a Tilt. Some 20 years ago, it was the biggest mall in the metro area, but today it’s about half empty and has a reputation for gangs (I don’t go there enough to know if it’s deserved).
Almost all of the malls in Kansas City that I remember going to in my youth are gone now, replaced by overgrown strip malls (so-called “Lifestyle Centers”) or New Urbanism (revitalized and slightly modernized takes on the classic downtown). The traditionalist in me doesn’t mind the New Urbanism, but when I think of progress, strip malls consisting of all the usual big-box stores mashed together isn’t exactly what comes to mind…