http://www.mantecabulletin.com/news/archive/19509/
and
http://www.mantecabulletin.com/news/archive/19543/
SHORT VERSION
let me sum it all for all you who dont wanna read lol. Ok so this is a two phase project
Phase 1:
As early as spring of 2012 Manteca could see the opening of a massive 70,000-square-foot indoor water park, a 400-room resort hotel, and a conference center that ultimately will rival Modesto’s in size.
PEople getting mad at this first phase because in order to visit the resort/ water park you have to be a guest of the hotel. An the cost of staying the night was 280 to 300 for up to eight people which isnt as bad as it sounds to me but still people are bitching for day passes. Thus Phase 2 below comes into play.
Phase: 2
Part of the second phase would be a 40,000-square-foot outdoor water park (second water park without resort) immediately adjacent to the Big League Dreams complex on seven acres across the street from the proposed Great Wolf Resorts site. That water park would be accessible to anyone who paid the entrance fees.
Both phases are part of an overall 110-acre family entertainment zone.
FULL STORY
Return of Manteca Waterslides?
Water park could go next to BLD
As early as spring of 2012 Manteca could see the opening of a massive 70,000-square-foot indoor water park, a 400-room resort hotel, and a conference center that ultimately will rival Modesto’s in size.
Great Wolf Resorts is proposing a two-phase development on city owned land immediately west of Costco along the Highway 120 Bypass that ultimately would see a six-story, 600-room hotel, the water park expanded to 110,000 square feet making it just smaller than the Manteca Target Store, and a 60,000-quare-foot conference center. The project could ultimately represent a $200 million investment in Manteca, add 500 permanent jobs, draw 400,000 visitors annually, create 1,000 construction jobs, and cement Manteca as a bonafide tourist attraction.
The Manteca City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to prepare a memorandum of understanding with the Colorado-based McWhinney development firm. McWhinney would develop and own the majority of the resort while Great Wolf Resorts would manage and operate it.
AKF Development - acting as consultants for the city - first approached Great Wolf Resorts. A council subcommittee of council members Vince Hernandez and Steve DeBrum hammered out the parameters that are setting the stage for serious negotiations to begin.
More than just a place for people to go down a slide
“Wow,” was the reaction of Councilman John Harris to Tuesday’s council presentation.
“This is an absolutely wonderful project,” added council member Debby Moorhead.
Hernandez and DeBrum indicated the goal was to find a project that got the most bang for the city’s buck.
Great Wolf Resorts Vice president of Business Development Melissa Wheeler echoed the council members’ sentiment noting the issue facing the city was if they wanted “to build something where people can go down slides or something that would be a benefit to the city.”
And it is that benefit that is driving the council’s interest.
Preliminary numbers indicate the room tax on the resort alone could generate between $4 million and $6 million a year without hurting existing hotels that currently bring $342,000 a year in room taxes into city coffers. A $6 million jump in room tax each year would generate enough funds to hire an equivalent of 50 police officers.
Other hotels would not be impacted since to use the water park visitors have to be guests of the resort. The room rates - which haven’t been set for Manteca - typically range from $280 to $300 a night for up to eight people. That includes full use of the water park both the day of their overnight stay and the next day as well.
It would be the second phase of an overall 160-acre family entertainment zone being cobbled together by the city that would end up being built on land that was once bought for use by the adjacent municipal wastewater treatment plant. The BLD sports complex is the first phase of that zone with Great Wolf Resort being the second.
Great Wolf Resort would be located within a mile of California’s first water park - Manteca Waterslides - that was once at the western end of Woodward Avenue south of the Highway 120 Bypass.
12 million consumers within two-hour drive
The Budge Brown family heavily advertised the waterslides during the 30 years they were in existence. Before they closed down in 2004 the waterslides were a popular stop for Bay Area residents and foreign tourists returning from Yosemite.
As such Manteca is still associated strongly with water slides in the minds of many Northern California residents.
Manteca Convention & Visitors Bureau Executive Director Linda Abeldt has noted if a new water park does open it will have instant recognition throughout the north state.
The high interest in the Manteca water park has more to do with three critical factors. First, the city is willing to partner with the right private sector group by providing the land near BLD. The fact BLD books out-of-town tournaments every weekend including Christmas and other holidays from throughout Northern California and draws 450,000 paid spectators a year is also a positive.
It also has to do with Manteca’s unique position being at the epicenter of the third largest 100-mile radius market in the United States - with 17 million consumers behind Los Angeles and New York - than it does with Manteca forever being joined at the hip with the concept of water slides.
Great Wolf Resorts made note of Manteca’s location focusing on the number of consumers within an hour to two-hour drive. Their statistics would put Manteca in the top three best locations in the country for an indoor water park. It has a population in that time drive of 12.5 million people with 41 percent of the 4.3 million households having children. The average household income is $69,657.
“With 13 years of operational experience and based on the demographic comparison presented (with Ground Mound in the state of Washington and Poconos in Pennsylvania), we believe Manteca is an excellent market for the Great Wolf Lodge,” noted a conclusion that is part of the Great Wolf presentation to the City Council.
At the time Manteca Waterslides closed in 2004 they held the record for being the longest running water park in California based on the fact they were the first. They were also the largest at the time they closed.
The Brown family was dealing with stiff competition from new water parks in Concord and Roseville that were basically carbon copies of each other and located in urban markets. The drop in business coupled with rising workers compensation costs, the expense of trying to keep up by modernizing even more, and the desire to retire prompted them to put the waterslides on the market.
The only interest was from a developer who envisioned creating a gated water front community known as Oakwood Shores.
Water park exclusivity irks some
2nd outdoor water park would be open to anyone
The idea of an “exclusive” water park resort built either on city-owned property or with redevelopment agency tossed into the mix or both isn’t sitting too well with some Manteca residents.
News that the Manteca City Council is preparing a memorandum of understanding with the development firm of McWhinney and Great Wolf Resorts to develop a two-phased project that ultimately could include a 600-room hotel, 60,000-square-foot conference center and indoor water park stirred up responses from city residents that they didn’t like the idea of not being able to access the water park unless they book a room. The resort is being proposed on 30 acres owned by the city along the Highway 120 Bypass west of Costco.
“If day use passes or year round passes are not in the proposed plan, the city council should look into proposing this idea, and or making this ‘mandatory’ prior to approving this project,” commented Manteca resident Natalie Kane. “It wouldn’t be right to ‘force’ people (living within the city, or surrounding cities) into staying at a hotel, just to use the water park.”
Kane was one of 10 readers to e-mail the Bulletin to express unhappiness with the indoor water park being available only to hotel guests. Some of the comments appear on Page A4 in the Bulletin's print edition.
Part of the second phase would be a 40,000-square-foot outdoor water park immediately adjacent to the Big League Dreams complex on seven acres across the street from the proposed Great Wolf Resorts site. That water park would be accessible to anyone who paid the entrance fees.
City Manager Steve Pinkerton said it is too early to determine if the firms the city is now negotiating with would be the ones to build and operate that water park or if someone else would. It is part of an overall 110-acre family entertainment zone.
Pinkerton said a free-standing water park would have difficulty making it on its own financially. That is why a consulting firm is examining various uses that could be lured into the zone in conjunction with the water park including an amphitheatre.
At one time, Oakwood Lake Resort had an amphitheatre that accommodated roughly 5,000 people and routinely had big name acts booked to play next door to the waterslides.
Exclusive access for ‘security’ appeals to guests pay $300 a room
Great Wolf Resorts Vice President of Business Development Melissa Wheeler told the council at Tuesday night’s meeting that the exclusive use of the indoor water park for hotel guests was “for security” and to provide a resort-like feel without lines. Wheeler said that is one of the big drawing points for Great Wolf.
She did add that they do work with local communities where they are located to provide access days for the community as well as options for locals to book birthday parties at the resorts.
Manteca Mayor Weatherford said he favored a much more liberal access for Manteca residents.
“That’s just my opinion,” Weatherford said. “It is still way too early in the process and I intend to make that a big point.”
Pinkerton emphasized that as well noting “serious negotiations have yet to get underway” about precisely how the proposal would work. The city would also have to vet the numbers to make sure that makes economic sense for the city to proceed.
Bill Filios of AKF Development, who brought Great Wolf Resorts and the City of Manteca together, said he understood concerns and the strong emotional ties to the community has to water slides as his wife once worked at the Manteca Water Slides.
He emphasized that the deal - if it pans out - would bring 500 permanent jobs plus hotel room tax that could bring between $4 million and $6 million a year to the city to spend on public services such as police, fire, streets, and parks. That is based on an average room rent of $300 with a special zone room tax of 15 percent which would generate $45 per room per night of occupancy.
How that works is if the resort averaged only 60 percent occupancy they would fill 240 rooms at $300 at night. That would generate $72,000 plus another $10,800 in room tax at 15 percent. That multiplied by 365 days would generate $3,942,000 in room tax a year that would go directly to the city.
If every room was booked every day of the year - which would not happen - the city would receive $6.5 million.
“What is key for Manteca residents and those on surrounding communities are the other family entertainment (venues) that Great World and Big League Dreams would attract to the 110 acres,” Filios said. “All of (those uses) would be accessible to anyone.”
That would include a second water park.
McWhinney and Great Wolf resorts are moving forward with their first location in California in Garden Grove just 1.5 miles from Disneyland. It will have 600 rooms, three acres of indoor and outdoor water parks, a 1,000-vehcile parking structure, and a 30,000-square-foot conference center. Garden Grove is providing the land and partnering with the two firms to develop the project.
The two-phase Manteca proposal represents between a $180 million and $200 million investment. The first phase would consist of 400 rooms, half of the conference center, and a 70,000-square-foot indoor water park. (By comparison the Manteca Wal-Mart has 80,000 square feet). The second phase would add 200 rooms to the 6-story hotel, finish the conference center and the separate 40,000-square-foot water park.
Greta Wolf Resorts - if a deal can be reached - hopes to break ground in Manteca either in April or October of 2011.
and
http://www.mantecabulletin.com/news/archive/19543/
SHORT VERSION
let me sum it all for all you who dont wanna read lol. Ok so this is a two phase project
Phase 1:
As early as spring of 2012 Manteca could see the opening of a massive 70,000-square-foot indoor water park, a 400-room resort hotel, and a conference center that ultimately will rival Modesto’s in size.
PEople getting mad at this first phase because in order to visit the resort/ water park you have to be a guest of the hotel. An the cost of staying the night was 280 to 300 for up to eight people which isnt as bad as it sounds to me but still people are bitching for day passes. Thus Phase 2 below comes into play.
Phase: 2
Part of the second phase would be a 40,000-square-foot outdoor water park (second water park without resort) immediately adjacent to the Big League Dreams complex on seven acres across the street from the proposed Great Wolf Resorts site. That water park would be accessible to anyone who paid the entrance fees.
Both phases are part of an overall 110-acre family entertainment zone.
FULL STORY
Return of Manteca Waterslides?
Water park could go next to BLD
As early as spring of 2012 Manteca could see the opening of a massive 70,000-square-foot indoor water park, a 400-room resort hotel, and a conference center that ultimately will rival Modesto’s in size.
Great Wolf Resorts is proposing a two-phase development on city owned land immediately west of Costco along the Highway 120 Bypass that ultimately would see a six-story, 600-room hotel, the water park expanded to 110,000 square feet making it just smaller than the Manteca Target Store, and a 60,000-quare-foot conference center. The project could ultimately represent a $200 million investment in Manteca, add 500 permanent jobs, draw 400,000 visitors annually, create 1,000 construction jobs, and cement Manteca as a bonafide tourist attraction.
The Manteca City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to prepare a memorandum of understanding with the Colorado-based McWhinney development firm. McWhinney would develop and own the majority of the resort while Great Wolf Resorts would manage and operate it.
AKF Development - acting as consultants for the city - first approached Great Wolf Resorts. A council subcommittee of council members Vince Hernandez and Steve DeBrum hammered out the parameters that are setting the stage for serious negotiations to begin.
More than just a place for people to go down a slide
“Wow,” was the reaction of Councilman John Harris to Tuesday’s council presentation.
“This is an absolutely wonderful project,” added council member Debby Moorhead.
Hernandez and DeBrum indicated the goal was to find a project that got the most bang for the city’s buck.
Great Wolf Resorts Vice president of Business Development Melissa Wheeler echoed the council members’ sentiment noting the issue facing the city was if they wanted “to build something where people can go down slides or something that would be a benefit to the city.”
And it is that benefit that is driving the council’s interest.
Preliminary numbers indicate the room tax on the resort alone could generate between $4 million and $6 million a year without hurting existing hotels that currently bring $342,000 a year in room taxes into city coffers. A $6 million jump in room tax each year would generate enough funds to hire an equivalent of 50 police officers.
Other hotels would not be impacted since to use the water park visitors have to be guests of the resort. The room rates - which haven’t been set for Manteca - typically range from $280 to $300 a night for up to eight people. That includes full use of the water park both the day of their overnight stay and the next day as well.
It would be the second phase of an overall 160-acre family entertainment zone being cobbled together by the city that would end up being built on land that was once bought for use by the adjacent municipal wastewater treatment plant. The BLD sports complex is the first phase of that zone with Great Wolf Resort being the second.
Great Wolf Resort would be located within a mile of California’s first water park - Manteca Waterslides - that was once at the western end of Woodward Avenue south of the Highway 120 Bypass.
12 million consumers within two-hour drive
The Budge Brown family heavily advertised the waterslides during the 30 years they were in existence. Before they closed down in 2004 the waterslides were a popular stop for Bay Area residents and foreign tourists returning from Yosemite.
As such Manteca is still associated strongly with water slides in the minds of many Northern California residents.
Manteca Convention & Visitors Bureau Executive Director Linda Abeldt has noted if a new water park does open it will have instant recognition throughout the north state.
The high interest in the Manteca water park has more to do with three critical factors. First, the city is willing to partner with the right private sector group by providing the land near BLD. The fact BLD books out-of-town tournaments every weekend including Christmas and other holidays from throughout Northern California and draws 450,000 paid spectators a year is also a positive.
It also has to do with Manteca’s unique position being at the epicenter of the third largest 100-mile radius market in the United States - with 17 million consumers behind Los Angeles and New York - than it does with Manteca forever being joined at the hip with the concept of water slides.
Great Wolf Resorts made note of Manteca’s location focusing on the number of consumers within an hour to two-hour drive. Their statistics would put Manteca in the top three best locations in the country for an indoor water park. It has a population in that time drive of 12.5 million people with 41 percent of the 4.3 million households having children. The average household income is $69,657.
“With 13 years of operational experience and based on the demographic comparison presented (with Ground Mound in the state of Washington and Poconos in Pennsylvania), we believe Manteca is an excellent market for the Great Wolf Lodge,” noted a conclusion that is part of the Great Wolf presentation to the City Council.
At the time Manteca Waterslides closed in 2004 they held the record for being the longest running water park in California based on the fact they were the first. They were also the largest at the time they closed.
The Brown family was dealing with stiff competition from new water parks in Concord and Roseville that were basically carbon copies of each other and located in urban markets. The drop in business coupled with rising workers compensation costs, the expense of trying to keep up by modernizing even more, and the desire to retire prompted them to put the waterslides on the market.
The only interest was from a developer who envisioned creating a gated water front community known as Oakwood Shores.
Water park exclusivity irks some
2nd outdoor water park would be open to anyone
The idea of an “exclusive” water park resort built either on city-owned property or with redevelopment agency tossed into the mix or both isn’t sitting too well with some Manteca residents.
News that the Manteca City Council is preparing a memorandum of understanding with the development firm of McWhinney and Great Wolf Resorts to develop a two-phased project that ultimately could include a 600-room hotel, 60,000-square-foot conference center and indoor water park stirred up responses from city residents that they didn’t like the idea of not being able to access the water park unless they book a room. The resort is being proposed on 30 acres owned by the city along the Highway 120 Bypass west of Costco.
“If day use passes or year round passes are not in the proposed plan, the city council should look into proposing this idea, and or making this ‘mandatory’ prior to approving this project,” commented Manteca resident Natalie Kane. “It wouldn’t be right to ‘force’ people (living within the city, or surrounding cities) into staying at a hotel, just to use the water park.”
Kane was one of 10 readers to e-mail the Bulletin to express unhappiness with the indoor water park being available only to hotel guests. Some of the comments appear on Page A4 in the Bulletin's print edition.
Part of the second phase would be a 40,000-square-foot outdoor water park immediately adjacent to the Big League Dreams complex on seven acres across the street from the proposed Great Wolf Resorts site. That water park would be accessible to anyone who paid the entrance fees.
City Manager Steve Pinkerton said it is too early to determine if the firms the city is now negotiating with would be the ones to build and operate that water park or if someone else would. It is part of an overall 110-acre family entertainment zone.
Pinkerton said a free-standing water park would have difficulty making it on its own financially. That is why a consulting firm is examining various uses that could be lured into the zone in conjunction with the water park including an amphitheatre.
At one time, Oakwood Lake Resort had an amphitheatre that accommodated roughly 5,000 people and routinely had big name acts booked to play next door to the waterslides.
Exclusive access for ‘security’ appeals to guests pay $300 a room
Great Wolf Resorts Vice President of Business Development Melissa Wheeler told the council at Tuesday night’s meeting that the exclusive use of the indoor water park for hotel guests was “for security” and to provide a resort-like feel without lines. Wheeler said that is one of the big drawing points for Great Wolf.
She did add that they do work with local communities where they are located to provide access days for the community as well as options for locals to book birthday parties at the resorts.
Manteca Mayor Weatherford said he favored a much more liberal access for Manteca residents.
“That’s just my opinion,” Weatherford said. “It is still way too early in the process and I intend to make that a big point.”
Pinkerton emphasized that as well noting “serious negotiations have yet to get underway” about precisely how the proposal would work. The city would also have to vet the numbers to make sure that makes economic sense for the city to proceed.
Bill Filios of AKF Development, who brought Great Wolf Resorts and the City of Manteca together, said he understood concerns and the strong emotional ties to the community has to water slides as his wife once worked at the Manteca Water Slides.
He emphasized that the deal - if it pans out - would bring 500 permanent jobs plus hotel room tax that could bring between $4 million and $6 million a year to the city to spend on public services such as police, fire, streets, and parks. That is based on an average room rent of $300 with a special zone room tax of 15 percent which would generate $45 per room per night of occupancy.
How that works is if the resort averaged only 60 percent occupancy they would fill 240 rooms at $300 at night. That would generate $72,000 plus another $10,800 in room tax at 15 percent. That multiplied by 365 days would generate $3,942,000 in room tax a year that would go directly to the city.
If every room was booked every day of the year - which would not happen - the city would receive $6.5 million.
“What is key for Manteca residents and those on surrounding communities are the other family entertainment (venues) that Great World and Big League Dreams would attract to the 110 acres,” Filios said. “All of (those uses) would be accessible to anyone.”
That would include a second water park.
McWhinney and Great Wolf resorts are moving forward with their first location in California in Garden Grove just 1.5 miles from Disneyland. It will have 600 rooms, three acres of indoor and outdoor water parks, a 1,000-vehcile parking structure, and a 30,000-square-foot conference center. Garden Grove is providing the land and partnering with the two firms to develop the project.
The two-phase Manteca proposal represents between a $180 million and $200 million investment. The first phase would consist of 400 rooms, half of the conference center, and a 70,000-square-foot indoor water park. (By comparison the Manteca Wal-Mart has 80,000 square feet). The second phase would add 200 rooms to the 6-story hotel, finish the conference center and the separate 40,000-square-foot water park.
Greta Wolf Resorts - if a deal can be reached - hopes to break ground in Manteca either in April or October of 2011.
