Financial research concept

Entertainment Venue Pre-Opening Costs

measures expenses incurred before new entertainment venues begin operations, including certain labor, occupancy, and launch-related costs under the issuer's accounting policy.

By Lee BaileyPublished Sep 26, 2026

Research context

See what supports this page, how current it is, and where comparable or historical context is available.

Research date: Sep 26, 2026Use the dated article and cited sources for the definition, examples, and stated limitations.
Operating-model context: 17 connected conceptsPart of the reviewed Entertainment Venue Store Economics; issuer definitions remain distinct where disclosed.
Company examples: 1 reviewed companyRelationships reflect supported examples, not a normalized cross-company KPI ranking.

The expense includes more than launch advertising
Timing can make annual pre-opening expense lumpy
Pre-opening expense and capital expenditures answer different questions
Part of the Entertainment Venue Store Economics
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Entertainment venue pre-opening costs are expenses incurred to prepare a new venue for operations before it opens.

Dave & Buster's reported $19.0 million of pre-opening costs in fiscal 2025, compared with $18.7 million in fiscal 2024.

The expense includes more than launch advertising

Dave & Buster's says pre-opening costs include pre-opening rent, training, relocation, recruiting, and travel costs for employees involved in opening and organizing new stores.

The company expenses these costs as incurred.

That accounting distinguishes them from construction and equipment spending that may be capitalized.

Timing can make annual pre-opening expense lumpy

Management said the fiscal 2025 increase was primarily due to the timing of costs in the new-store pipeline.

A store can incur meaningful pre-opening expense before it contributes any revenue, so the annual cost does not necessarily line up one-for-one with the number of new stores opened during that same fiscal year.

Pre-opening expense and capital expenditures answer different questions

Capital expenditures capture cash invested in long-lived assets such as new venues, remodels, games, and equipment.

Pre-opening costs capture launch-related expenses recognized in the income statement. Keeping the two separate prevents an investor from understating the full upfront economic burden of venue expansion.

Primary source: Dave & Buster's fiscal 2025 Form 10-K.

Part of the Entertainment Venue Store Economics

Connects entertainment and dining revenue mix with product-cost rates, comparable-store performance, new-store development and maturation, operating-cost leverage, pre-opening expense, and capital reinvestment for large-format entertainment venues.

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Where this concept fits

Footprint expansion, launch expense, and capital reinvestmentCurrent relationship
Ending company-owned store count and new-store openings show the physical venue base and expansion flow. Pre-opening costs capture launch expense before operations begin, while capital expenditures show cash invested in new stores, remodels, games, technology, and other property and equipment.
Capital Expenditures Company-Owned Store Count New Store OpeningsPre-Opening CostsCurrent concept
Revenue mix, direct product costs, and store-level operating leverage
Entertainment and food-and-beverage revenue mix show what customers spend on inside the venue. Their direct product cost rates preserve different denominators, while payroll and other store operating expense rates show additional store-level cost intensity against total revenue.
Entertainment Cost Rate Entertainment Revenue Entertainment Revenue Mix Food & Beverage Cost Rate Food & Beverage Revenue Food & Beverage Revenue Mix Operating Payroll Rate Other Store Operating Expense Rate
Seasoned-store performance, noncomparable exposure, and new-store maturation
Comparable-store sales growth measures the seasoned base, while comparable and noncomparable operating weeks expose the time contribution behind each population. The comparable-store base count and honeymoon effect help distinguish mature-store performance from early new-store sales patterns.
Comparable Store Base Count Comparable Store Operating Weeks Comparable Store Sales Growth New Store Honeymoon Effect Noncomparable Store Operating Weeks

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These companies are examples of how the concept is reported or discussed in public filings. Definitions can differ by issuer; these links open company research rather than a normalized metric comparison.

PLAYOpen operating-model research →17 of 17 reviewed concepts in Entertainment Venue Store EconomicsFootprint expansion, launch expense, and capital reinvestment4 of 4 bridge concepts supportedContinue through this bridge:Capital Expenditures Company-Owned Store Count New Store Openings

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Compare expansion launch costs

Compare the income-statement cost of preparing new locations separately from capitalized construction and equipment spending.

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