Six entertainment destinations, one address: how Pacific Mall, Tagore Garden has turned play into a destination for Delhi’s families, teenagers and young adults
There was a time when going to a mall meant going shopping. Then came movies, restaurants, coffee and ever more elaborate food courts. The mall gradually stopped being a place built around a purchase and became a place built around time. Now, there is another reason to go: play.
At Pacific Mall, Tagore Garden, that idea has taken shape across six entertainment destinations: Dave & Buster’s, Timezone, Blaaze, Play N Learn, Pixyland and Joyoko. Together, they bring arcade gaming, bowling, VR, go-karting, trampolines, bumper cars and play-and-learn experiences under one roof.
Alongside these sits PVR Cinemas, the mall’s six-screen multiplex, upgraded across around 49,000 sq ft with 1,014 seats. For many visitors, a film is still the simplest way to build an evening, and here it can sit alongside bowling, arcade games and dinner without anyone leaving the building.
Why the timing matters
The timing is significant. According to Cushman & Wakefield, entertainment accounted for 16 per cent of mall leasing volume in Delhi-NCR in Q1 2026, making it the second-largest category after fashion and apparel at 32 per cent. JLL data for the same quarter similarly puts entertainment at 16 per cent of retail leasing across India’s top cities, behind fashion and apparel at around 33 per cent.
The shift is not difficult to understand. Consumers have more ways than ever to shop, eat and entertain themselves without leaving home. Streaming, gaming, food delivery and social media have made staying at home remarkably easy. What the physical destination can offer is different: movement, competition, discovery and the simple pleasure of doing something together.
For Pacific Group, the expansion reflects a broader change in the role of a mall. Abhishek Bansal, Managing Director, Pacific Group, says: “Entertainment is no longer something that sits alongside retail. It is becoming one of the reasons people choose a destination in the first place.
“At Pacific Mall, Tagore Garden, our focus has been to create an environment where different generations can find something to do, not simply something to buy. The strongest destinations of the future will be those that become part of people’s leisure, social and family lives.”
Six destinations, many ways to play
The interesting thing about entertainment is that its meaning changes with age. For a young child, play can mean climbing, exploring and discovering. Play N Learn, built around a Reggio Emilia-inspired approach to active learning, brings those elements into a structured environment. Birthday parties and school visits extend the experience beyond a casual visit and make it part of the larger family outing.
For teenagers, play becomes competitive. Timezone combines arcade games, bowling and VR, while Pixyland adds another gaming-led experience. The attraction is not only the game itself. It is the friend standing next to you, the score to beat and the inevitable argument over who actually won.
Then there is Blaaze, which launched its flagship centre at Pacific Mall, Tagore Garden in June 2026 with its “Lead The Thrill” proposition. Go-karting, trampolines, bumper cars, arcade games and VR bring a more physical, high-energy dimension to the mix. Joyoko adds another family-focused entertainment option, widening the range of experiences available to younger visitors and families.
Where adults get to play
And then there is Dave & Buster’s, which brings a distinctly adult dimension to the entertainment mix. Founded in Dallas in 1982 around the proposition “Eat. Drink. Play. Watch”, the American brand combines arcade games with Nitro Bowling, VR, food and beverages, sports viewing, parties and events. Its Pacific Mall, Tagore Garden venue is its first in Delhi and third in India after Bengaluru and Mumbai.
It is part arcade, part sports bar, part social destination. More importantly, it reflects a change in the way adults themselves think about entertainment. Growing up does not necessarily mean growing out of play. It simply changes what we call it. A bowling game becomes an evening out. An arcade becomes a social occasion. A race becomes a reason to get together. Food and drinks become part of the experience rather than the entire experience.
The mall becomes the plan
This is where Pacific Mall, Tagore Garden’s entertainment proposition becomes more than a collection of attractions. A single entertainment venue can give people a reason to visit. A cluster of them can give people reasons to return.
A family can bring a child to Play N Learn and continue with food and shopping. Teenagers can spend an afternoon between arcade games and bowling. Friends can race, compete, eat and move on to another experience without changing destinations. The mall becomes the plan.
What consumers say they want
That matters more as entertainment takes a larger share of the consumer’s leisure wallet. A 2024-25 survey by CBRE and Invest India found that more than 70 per cent of consumers across age groups preferred active experiences such as bowling, play zones and rock climbing over passive entertainment. Nearly 90 per cent were open to spending up to ₹4,000 a month on such experiences, with ₹1,000-₹2,000 the most popular spending bracket. More than 65 per cent preferred entertainment either on its own or combined with food and beverage.
For malls, the implication is clear. The competition is no longer simply between one shopping centre and another. It is also between the physical world and the comfortable world of staying home. The answer cannot simply be more retail. It has to be a better reason to leave the house.
Why Pacific Mall, Tagore Garden’s entertainment mix matters
Pacific Mall, Tagore Garden’s advantage lies in the breadth of its offering. Six destinations cater to different ages, interests and levels of engagement. There is active play for children, gaming for teenagers, high-energy attractions for groups and an entertainment-and-dining format for adults. That makes the proposition unusually broad for a single mall.
Bansal says: “People may arrive at a mall for very different reasons, but what makes a destination memorable is the experience they share once they are there. We want Pacific Mall, Tagore Garden to be a place where a family can spend an afternoon, friends can challenge each other, children can discover something new and adults can unwind without feeling that entertainment is only meant for the young. That diversity is what makes our entertainment offering distinctive.”
The reason to go
The distinction is important. The story is not simply that Pacific Mall, Tagore Garden has added more entertainment. It is that entertainment has become part of the mall’s identity.
The shopping trip can still happen. So can the movie, dinner or coffee. But none of those has to be the reason for coming any more. Sometimes, the reason is simply to play.
