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player ready...Oakbrook Center this fall will be the first location outside the New York metro market and New York State to be host to RPM Raceway, an entertainment facility that will feature the longest multilevel go-kart track in the Midwest.
The 90,000-square-foot RPM space will take over the location previously occupied by Sony Pictures Entertainment’s Wonderverse, which closed in December 2025 after about two years.
The new Oak Brook venue, the company’s fifth, will feature more than 45,000 square feet of multilevel karting across two tracks, offering pro, adult and junior racing, according to RPM.
“RPM Oakbrook is our most ambitious venue yet and our first step into the Midwest,” said Andrew Farage, founder and chief executive officer. “Through our partnership with Sony Pictures Entertainment, we’re bringing the Chicago area its longest multilevel go-kart track and a competitive entertainment experience built for families, friends, and colleagues.”
The venue is planned as a destination for private celebrations and group events, offering more than 10,000 square feet of flexible event space for birthday parties, corporate outings, holiday gatherings and team-building activities, the company said.
Farage said Oakbrook Center was an easy choice for a Chicago-area location, and that Chicago has been at the top of the company’s list since it started mapping its national growth.
“Oakbrook Center made the decision easy,” he said. “It sits in the middle of some of the densest, most affluent suburban markets in the country, while still being a short drive from downtown, so we can serve families and weekend traffic on one side and corporate groups and team events on the other.
Farage said Oakbrook Center owner GGP has worked to make Oakbrook Center an experience-driven destination, rather than just a shopping mall.
“That lines up with how people and our guests are choosing to spend their time now,” he said.
Farage said RPM provides an exhilarating form of competitive entertainment.
“They are racing electric karts on the longest multilevel track in the Midwest, climbing up to 30 feet in the air, taking corners at speed with other drivers right on their tails,” he said. “The environment is blacked out with LED’s that illuminate the track. The closest way I can describe it is ‘Tron meets Formula 1.’ It’s competitive, it’s immersive and it’s unlike anything else you can do on a Saturday in the suburbs.”
There also will be food and beverage available for purchase and a 30-foot LED screen to enjoy sports, he said.
“Guests come to RPM for the immersive experience — the racing, the arcade, the food and drinks, and the energy of competing wheel-to-wheel with the people they came with,” Farage said “Most guests plan to spend a few hours at the venue, and groups, parties and corporate events easily make a full- or half-day of it.”
Once it opens this fall, RPM will be open until 10 p.m. during the week and after midnight on weekends. Specific hours will be announced before the opening.
Farage said racing starts at $25 to $30 per session.
“And from there we’ve built bundles, loyalty programs and packages at a range of price points so a group can come in and spend what makes sense for them,” he said. “Most of our guests come for a birthday or a night out. Some come back every week and start taking it seriously. We’re built for both.”
Chuck Fieldman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.