Date: 12th July, 2013, updated 18th August 2014

Plans have been unveiled to open the world's largest pinball museum in Southern California, but to make it happen the team behind it need to raise $150,000 through their Kickstarter campaign.

The Museum of Pinball is planning to occupy an 18-acre plot in Banning, California, which has already been purchased to ensure they are not dependent on a landlord and cannot have the price of their lease unexpectedly increased.

Indeed, The Museum of Pinball is a fully nonprofit organisation, so all the money raised through their Kickstarter - should it prove successful - will go into renovating the existing 40,000 square foot building on the plot and provide the infrastructure to open with 500 machines on display.

The machines are already owned as part of the collection of Museum founder and former arcade chain owner, John Weeks. He's pledged the machines and the land to the Museum, but funding is needed to provide a suitable building, seating, computer system and electrical systems.

The Museum of Pinball's Kickstarter page

As usual with Kickstarter campaign, a range of benefits are offered in return for pledges starting at just $10. These range from your name on the wall of supporters, limited edition commemorative tokens and custom T-shirts, through to VIP opening weekend admission packages and private parties at the Museum.

There are plans beyond simply opening the Museum which include a dedicated visitors' centre, a refreshments room and the opening of a expanded exhibition area of 80,000 square feet filled with historical memorabilia.

The Kickstarter campaign began four days ago and runs for a total of 30 days, ending on 8th August, 2013. After four days the total raised was $13,703, which means an increase in the rate of pledges is needed if the total of $150,000 is to be reached by the closing date.

You can contribute to the campaign through the Museum's Kickstarter page, and find out more about the people behind the project and their plans on the Museum's home page.

We'll keep you updated on the Kickstarter's progress and whether they reach their target by the deadline of 8th August.

UPDATE

There's bad news and good news. The bad news is that the Kickstarter campaign failed to reach its target, raising pledges of $24,602 by the close. As with all Kickstarter fundraisers, if the target is not reached, none of the pledges are collected.

However, the good news is that the Museum of Pinball is going ahead regardless, and the organisers have announced the first Arcade Expo in January 2015 where nearly 700 pinball and arcade games will be set up to play over three days. In addition, seminars, workshops and movie screenings will be taking place at the Museum's facilites.

More details are available on the Arcade Expo website.

© Pinball News 2013