Indoor Skydiving Coming To Foxborough

FOXBOROUGH, MA — It's not actually jumping out of a plane, but it’s close. Patriot Place announced plans to open a sky diving business that gives thrill seekers that same rush with the latest virtual reality technology. Freedom Wind Tunnel Indoor Sky Diving will feature a 100-foot tall wind tunnel, and business owner Neal Gouck said he plans to have the facility open in fall 2020.

The idea to open an indoor skydiving venue at Patriot Place came from North Attleboro resident and Army veteran Gouck. When Gouck attended West Point, he was part of the Black Knights skydiving team. After serving in the army for 12 years, Gouck and his wife, Sally, moved back to their hometown of North Attleboro to raise their five children. Gouck’s idea to open an indoor skydiving facility came from a simple conversation with his wife, Sally, and their desire to go indoor skydiving close to home.

"Someone should build an indoor skydiving tunnel at Patriot Place. It would be so cool," Gouck recalled from that conversation with his wife, who replied, "Hey, why don’t you do it?"

From there, Gouck created Freedom Wind Tunnel, which will offer indoor skydiving to people of all ages and abilities. Gouck said he hopes to attract families and thrill seekers, but also wants to see the facility used for professional skydiving and military training.

"My military training taught me how to put all the right pieces and all the right partners together at the right time,” Gouck said in a statement. "Now, after 5-plus years, we are ready to break ground and you might say, we are out of the plane and already in free fall. We are excited to move into this next phase of development by landing this facility at Patriot Place and turn that simple conversation so long ago into concrete reality."

Skydivers will have the chance to use the virtual reality technology to simulate jumping from a plane with a football they'll deliver to the 50-yard line of an NFL Stadium. Gouck said the virtual reality can also be used to teach avid skydivers how to get out of dangerous situations, such as dealing with parachute malfunctions and coming too close to cliff faces. Freedom Wind announced it also plans to bring historical and educational museum exhibits of skydiving to the facility.

"We are very excited to land an indoor skydiving facility like Freedom Wind Tunnel at Patriot Place,"Patriot Place vice president Brian Earley said in a statement. "We have been working with Neal for quite a while to bring his vision to reality. This type of entertainment is very unique to the region and Neal’s concept for the facility and his passion for the project is really impressive."