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October 5, 2003WATER PARKS: Firm keeps an eye on Great WolfIf tourists will come, developers will buildByRecord-Eagle staff writer TRAVERSE CITY - Three developers of Wisconsin hotels with huge indoor water parks are keeping a close eye on Traverse City and its new Great Wolf Lodge. "We want to see how these guys do this winter," said Todd Nelson, owner of the Kalahari Resort & Convention Center in Wisconsin Dells, Wis., which has the nation's largest indoor water park. If tourists will battle their way through Michigan's winter weather to fill up Traverse City's first water park resort, Nelson said he and his partners are likely to put the city on their map for future projects. He and owners of two other major properties in the Dells formed LMN Development LLC to build water park hotels in other states. They are Tom Lucke, owner of Wilderness Hotel and Golf Resort, and James Mattei, who owns Treasure Island Waterpark Resort. LMN is following Great Lakes Companies Inc. into Sandusky, Ohio, to challenge its Great Bear Lodge, a sister to the Great Wolf Lodge in Traverse City. LMN's $60 million project would be three times bigger than the Great Bear. Sandusky has the Cedar Point amusement park and draws visitors from several nearby major cities. In those ways, it is a lot like Wisconsin Dells, Nelson said. "Winters in Wisconsin Dells have become very strong because of the water parks, but we're easier to get to than Traverse City," Nelson said. "There's 20 million people we can draw from in Chicago, Milwaukee, Madison, Minneapolis-St. Paul, and you get a whole lot more snow than we do." Recent visitors to Traverse City say more water park resorts might be appealing, especially if competition brings lower prices. Barry and Melinda Klukas of South Bend, Ind., visiting with their young son, said they considered staying at the Great Wolf. "But the price seems a bit much," Barry said. Great Wolf's rates run from $249 to $389 a night in peak seasons and $100 to $150 when demand is down. Charlevoix residents Kelley Wolanzyk, husband Matt and their two daughters, were visiting the city and said more water park hotels would be appealing. "It's something different for the kids, but they charge too much, especially if you just want to go for a day," Kelley said. That didn't deter Greg and Bridget Hildner of Vassar, who with their three young boys were staying at the Great Wolf. "The kids love it, even though the price is a little high, " Bridget said. Hospitality development consultant Jeff Coy of Rochester, Minn., who specializes in water park hotels, did a market study of northern Michigan for the 58,000-square-foot Avalanche Bay water park at Boyne Mountain. It is slated to go in along with the new Mountain Grand Lodge in Boyne Falls. "We studied Wisconsin Dells in great detail to see what makes it successful and if northern Michigan can do as well," Coy said. "One big difference is that Wisconsin Dells in on the I-90 freeway. There's a strong go-north mentality in both states. Detroiters will go 250 miles to Boyne Mountain, even just for weekends. We'll all be looking at Great Wolf Lodge through the winter." Coy said the hotel indoor water park concept started in Wisconsin Dells in 1994 when a hotel operator bought some water-play equipment and installed it in his indoor pool. Winter weekend hotel occupancy skyrocketed. Now there are 18 hotel water parks in the Dells and owners are constantly expanding to top their rivals. Other area projects being consideredHere are some of the water park-hotel projects in the works or being considered for northwest Lower Michigan:• Avalanche Bay, a 58,000-square-foot indoor water park at the Mountain Grand Lodge, soon to be under construction at the Boyne Mountain Ski and Golf Resort in Boyne Falls. The project will have an Alpine-winter sports theme with Austrian streetscapes, avalanche rumblings and Boyne memorabilia along with falls, tubes, waves and pools. Opening is slated for a year from December. • The Lieghio hotel family of Mackinaw City plans a 40,000-square-foot water park on six acres on South Huron Street plus some lodging, possibly opening sometime next year. • Thunder Falls, a 20-acre outdoor water park at I-75 and Exit 337 to Mackinaw City. Construction is under way on a 16,000-square-foot wave pool, 48- and 65-foot-tall slide towers with 12 slides, and two children's interactive play areas, one for tots only. Ed Amick is head of a partnership called Surfside International that is developing the park. It would be a summer-only operation with no lodging. Managers of the Treetops Resort in Gaylord have discussed a water park. "At this moment, the water park is just a rumor," a spokeswoman said. There will be no water park at the Grand Traverse Resort and Spa any time soon, general manager Andrew Bateman said. "We've looked at it, but it's not one that is anywhere near the top of our list," he said. "It's a distant possibility."
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