Tank America crushes vehicles during media event at new Melbourne adventure attraction

MELBOURNE — The Cadillac DeVille was a sitting duck: An Abbot FV433 self-propelled artillery's twin treads rumbled across the windshield and trunk lid, crushing the luxury car like an aluminum can.

Then — for good measure — an Abbot FV432 armored personnel carrier powered up and over the hood and roof, further flattening the squashed Cadillac.

Welcome to Tank America, Melbourne's newest military-style adrenaline attraction. A state-of-the-art, 6,000-square-foot tactical laser tag arena opened last week. After a second Abbot FV433 arrives from the United Kingdom, tank-driving expeditions will start as soon as in mid-December.

"We've looked. There's nothing like this in the entire country. There is no place where you can actually drive tanks and engage in military combat simulation exercises," Scott Benjamin, company co-founder, said during a Friday media event.

Tank America is headquartered at a former National Guard armory on Ellis Road. The wooded property stretches across 33 wooded acres near John Rodes Boulevard. 

Visitors will pay $349 to ride in the armored personnel carrier to an Abbot FV433, where they can drive the 17-ton vehicle along a forest trail.

For $899, the "advanced troops" package will add a demolition-derby drive atop a junk vehicle — "crushing it underneath with a roaring crunch," the website states. The package includes souvenir GoPro video.

"You'll be able to drive it up hills, around corners, hairpins. You'll actually be able to crush a car using that Abbot FV433 tank," Benjamin said during a Friday press conference.

Each tank-driving expedition lasts about 3 1/2 hours.

Benjamin is an assistant professor with the Florida Institute of Technology's Nathan M. Bisk College of Business.

Eight employees are on the Tank America payroll, including a Navy veteran, a Marine Corps veteran and an Air Force reservist. 

Company officials hope to draw tourism traffic from Orlando, Miami, Tampa and elsewhere for corporate events, birthday parties and other outings. 

Troy Lotane, co-owner and president of Lotane & Associates, P.A., a Cocoa law firm, projected that out-of-towners will generate 75 percent of tank-driving revenues.

"To be able to come here and drive a tank, there are three or four other locations in the country that do it. There's not another one within 1,000 miles of us," Lotane told reporters.

Back in May, the Melbourne Planning and Zoning Board recommended denial of Tank America's zoning permit. Why? Board members cited objections from nearby homeowners in the Hammock Trace Preserve subdivision, who voiced noise and safety concerns.

Tank America officials hired a sound engineer to perform decibel tests and agreed to a list of operating restrictions to appease its neighbors, and the Melbourne City Council approved the zoning permit in June.

"For the last three weeks, we have been running the tanks around the track, just testing the tanks out. And no one has come to visit us," Benjamin said of Hammock Trace Preserve neighbors.

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The tactical laser tag arena opened last week after about 175 people tested it during soft-opening sessions. Participants are armed with iCombat automatic machine guns and long-range sniper rifles. Lotane said each gun cost $1,000.

The arena features 31 battle scenarios across a Hollywood studio-style battleground simulating an Afghani village. Cost is $30 for 90 minutes. Themed rooms include a kitchen, restaurant, auto shop, post office, prison, bank and hospital.

"We've had some comments from some of the high school and college kids that came and played. And they said, 'This is like a real-life, living 'Call of Duty.' You literally feel like you're in the video game," Benjamin said.

Contact South Brevard Watchdog Reporter Rick Neale at 321-242-3638, rneale@floridatoday.com or follow @RickNeale1 on Twitter.