Rode Demon for the first time this year on Sunday, including a first ride ever for my 6 year old daughter. I thought it ran surprisingly well and I loved the added effect in the tunnel before the corkscrews. I'd hate to see this classic go and so would the other young ones who use this as a stepping stone ride.
Gurnee eyes $4 million tax incentive program for Great America upgrades
A $4 million amusement tax incentive program to help fund upgrades and safety improvements at Six Flags Great America will be the subject of a public hearing and likely a vote Monday before the Gurnee Village Board.
The proposal only involves the park’s amusement tax, and will not impact property taxes paid to any taxing agencies or bodies that serve Gurnee, according to Mayor Kristi Kovarik. The village does not levy a property tax.
If approved, the village would freeze the park’s amusement tax payment at its current level and will rebate to the park any profits above that level for a period of seven years or until the revenue generated reaches $4 million, Village Administrator Patrick Muetz said.
Great America Communications Manager Tess Claussen said Tuesday that agreement would allow the park to make capital improvements needed to keep the park updated and stable in the long term.
“In our 42-year history, Six Flags Great America has contributed greatly to the economic landscape of the community,” Claussen said. “In those years, the village of Gurnee has been an excellent partner. We are excited for the partnership and for the support of Gurnee and look forward to making lasting capital improvements in years to come.”
She said the incentive program, “encourages the financial success of the park and the (eventual) increase of our amusement tax contribution to the village.”
Noting the age of the park, Muetz said the improvements are expected to focus on needed capital updates and improvements for items such as restrooms, roofs, flooring, parking and general aesthetics.
The safety aspects could range from replacement of old metal detectors, to the purchase of new first aid equipment and increased cameras and lighting, he said.
Muetz and Kovarik said that because the amusement tax revenue to the village remains the same, it would be up to Six Flags to generate the additional revenue through improved ticket sales.
“It’s 100 percent on Six Flags,” he said. “It’s 100 percent performance-based.”
Kovarik said if the program is successful, the rebates would free up other revenue for the park to use toward new rides and attractions to keep it competitive.
She said the park’s plan to hold a winter holiday fest this year, opening at times in November and December, is one example of a program expected to immediately boost park revenue.
Kovarik said Great America has done a good job of keeping up and improving its facility over the years, “and we wouldn’t want to see it become rundown.”
Gurnee eyes $4 million tax incentive program for Great America upgrades
A $4 million amusement tax incentive program to help fund upgrades and safety improvements at Six Flags Great America will be the subject of a public hearing and likely a vote Monday before the Gurnee Village Board.
The proposal only involves the park’s amusement tax, and will not impact property taxes paid to any taxing agencies or bodies that serve Gurnee, according to Mayor Kristi Kovarik. The village does not levy a property tax.
If approved, the village would freeze the park’s amusement tax payment at its current level and will rebate to the park any profits above that level for a period of seven years or until the revenue generated reaches $4 million, Village Administrator Patrick Muetz said.
Great America Communications Manager Tess Claussen said Tuesday that agreement would allow the park to make capital improvements needed to keep the park updated and stable in the long term.
“In our 42-year history, Six Flags Great America has contributed greatly to the economic landscape of the community,” Claussen said. “In those years, the village of Gurnee has been an excellent partner. We are excited for the partnership and for the support of Gurnee and look forward to making lasting capital improvements in years to come.”
She said the incentive program, “encourages the financial success of the park and the (eventual) increase of our amusement tax contribution to the village.”
Noting the age of the park, Muetz said the improvements are expected to focus on needed capital updates and improvements for items such as restrooms, roofs, flooring, parking and general aesthetics.
The safety aspects could range from replacement of old metal detectors, to the purchase of new first aid equipment and increased cameras and lighting, he said.
Muetz and Kovarik said that because the amusement tax revenue to the village remains the same, it would be up to Six Flags to generate the additional revenue through improved ticket sales.
“It’s 100 percent on Six Flags,” he said. “It’s 100 percent performance-based.”
Kovarik said if the program is successful, the rebates would free up other revenue for the park to use toward new rides and attractions to keep it competitive.
She said the park’s plan to hold a winter holiday fest this year, opening at times in November and December, is one example of a program expected to immediately boost park revenue.
Kovarik said Great America has done a good job of keeping up and improving its facility over the years, “and we wouldn’t want to see it become rundown.”
SFGAMNUT9302 wrote:That's awesome! I wonder if Great America will ever get a solar farm like Great Adventure and Magic Mountain!
Where would they put it though? But anyway, this news sounds great! I honestly wouldn't mind if they took an off year and improved aesthetics around the park to make it look new and modern.
SFGAMNUT9302 wrote:That's awesome! I wonder if Great America will ever get a solar farm like Great Adventure and Magic Mountain!
Where would they put it though? But anyway, this news sounds great! I honestly wouldn't mind if they took an off year and improved aesthetics around the park to make it look new and modern.
They could build the solar farm directly over the parking lot; put panels over the parking spaces. I’ve heard of this being done somewhere, but I don’t recall where I saw it.
SFGAMNUT9302 wrote:That's awesome! I wonder if Great America will ever get a solar farm like Great Adventure and Magic Mountain!
Where would they put it though? But anyway, this news sounds great! I honestly wouldn't mind if they took an off year and improved aesthetics around the park to make it look new and modern.
They could build the solar farm directly over the parking lot; put panels over the parking spaces. I’ve heard of this being done somewhere, but I don’t recall where I saw it.
It would never happen and it's probably highly illegal... But it would be cool if Six Flags talked the Village of Gurnee (Or Lake County) into adopting a 1% Sales tax hike, and using that sales tax revenue towards park improvements and new rides. lol.
Gurnee to consider $4 million tax incentive for Great America
The Gurnee village board will consider approving a $4 million tax incentive program for Six Flags Great America next week.
The money would help the park offset the $15 million in capital improvements officials plan to complete in the next seven years. Jack Linehan, the assistant to the village administrator, said Wednesday the money would go toward infrastructure work and security enhancements,
"None of this money is going toward rides," Linehan said.
The village collects a 4 percent amusement tax from theme park admissions. If the incentive plan is approved, the village will cap the park's amusement tax revenue at $2.8 million. That means any tax revenue above that amount will return to Great America.
The village would increase the cap by 2 percent each year of the seven-year agreement or until the village returns a total of $4 million to Great America, whichever comes first.
Mayor Kristina Kovarik said it's a good deal for the village and the theme park.
"The village board has talked about making investments in entertainment and tourism, and this is our first one," Kovarik said.
In a statement Wednesday, Great America spokeswoman Tess Claussen praised the village as a strong partner over the park's 42-year history.
"This incentive program encourages the financial success of the park," Claussen said. "We are excited for the partnership and for the support of the Village of Gurnee and look forward to making lasting capital improvements in years to come."
Kovarik said the village used the park's recent ticket sales as a baseline in setting the cap at $2.8 million.
"So they have to sell more tickets to earn tax incentive money," Kovarik said. "(Guests) will eat more food and buy more merchandise; that helps us too."
According to the Gurnee's latest budget, the village collected $2,040,273 in amusement taxes from Six Flags during fiscal year 2017. At the time, the amusement tax was 3 percent, meaning Great America collected about $68 million in admission fees that year.
The village board increased the amusement tax rate to 4 percent in March.
If Great America admission fees total $68 million in fiscal year 2019, the village will collect just over $2.7 million under the new tax rate.
Kovarik said the village and theme park began discussing the incentive program after the village board raised the amusement tax rate.
The plan will be the subject of a special public hearing at 6:40 p.m. Monday before the regularly scheduled board meeting at 7 p.m. Linehan said the plan likely will be up for a vote during the regular board meeting.
Lizardgi wrote:Someone posted on a Facebook fan page that SFGAm removed the time restriction on the dining plans to help take pressure off of packed dining times, any truth to this?
That would be awesome if they did.
I think this was my post, I didn't say they did remove the time restrictions I said THEY SHOULD! It really would create a less hectic work environment not to mention dramatically lower the stress and accident potential of the job, plus alleviate bottle necks for simple things like soda or water refills Not to mention the plethora of time actually opened up for rides Just make it so if you wanted a meal at say 4 you get it then couldn't get another for 1 or 2 hours after that. Not to mention freeing up the snack times that eats a huge chunk out of time too. And I get the one snack thing fine, but if there was something else you wanted how about a discount of 20-30% on subsequent snacks. Not to mention self serve drink stations that scan a barcode on a cup or wristband for daily/seasonal glasses the regular small medium large drinks would not have this barcode it could be done with QR codes as those seem fairly easy to change.
Sidenote: The grammar on that page is horrific. Every time I read a new post, it seems to get worse. Really the only reason I stay part of it is to see pictures of the park...
What a day! What a place! What a smile on your face!
Major fights broke out tonight at Great America. 80-100 people involved. Coasters after Dark closed at 11:15, 45 minutes prior to posted time because they could not contain the disturbances.
RollingCoasting wrote:I saw a comment on one of the Facebook groups that someone overdosed at the park tonight. Anyone know if there is any truth to this?
There were not any ambulances present by 30 minutes after they closed the park for safety concern. That would lead me to believe that this statement is false.
I might offend someone but I really think Six Flags needs to re-evaluate their season passes/ pricing. Between an incident with season passholders at Coasters After Dark and an incident at Fright Fest, Something needs to be done fast.
Coaster Justin wrote:I might offend someone but I really think Six Flags needs to re-evaluate their season passes/ pricing. Between an incident with season passholders at Coasters After Dark and an incident at Fright Fest, Something needs to be done fast.
I can't help but think Six Flags is very well aware that they attract/market to a very acting-out type crowd. It's not an easy thing to talk about, but I wish they would change their game plan. Raising the gate price would be a good start...
I knew something was going on last night. There was a group of teens huddled around the whack-a-mole in County Fair. I was actually looking for someone to tell them a fight might be starting. I figured the games worker called someone and when I came back, there was cops and security there. When I was leaving, another group was in front of Carousel Plaza gifts taunting each other and all 20 of them started sprinting to Orleans Place. By the time I was to my car, there were sirens from what I can only assume were backup coming in.
I agree with what other people are saying. Raise pass prices and filter out some of the troublemakers.
Making commercials that feature a more family atmosphere, non-coaster rides, etc., could help in the long-run. Six Flags as a whole has gone after the "quick market" with big/high thrill rides. It would be a perfect time to change the way they market and make commercials as the parks are all completely saturated with thrill coasters (a truth many coaster fans don't want to hear, sorry guys. What they already have is sufficient and awesome!). This is in addition to all the acting-out/babysitting issues. Someone could say it all better, but that's just my 2 cents.
Sadly that's how you know most teens today are very impulsive. No offense to any teenagers on this forum because I'm a teen as well (well barely). What Six Flags needs is to be more family friendly and in my opinion need information about your behavior record at any school. If that happens we can leave the bad teens out and the good teens in with 4.0 gpa's.
Just went on Yelp and several people have already posted one star reviews who were at the park last night. I agree with the others in regards to raising ticket prices. Between the horrendous lines and kids/gangs it’s getting completely out of hand.
T4P. i certainly like the sound of this!
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