[AN] Ouverture d'un parc indoor à Grand Bear Lodge

Developers were hoping to have the new indoor amusement park opened at Grand Bear Lodge a few days before Christmas, but December’s early cold snap killed any chance of having the Enchanted Forest open to Christmas vacationers.

But developer Joe Hook said the 36,000-square-foot amusement park is well under way and on pace for opening by early February. This week, laborers began moving disassembled rides into the four-story structure.

“We’re four to five weeks behind where we wanted to be,” Hook allowed. “The original goal might have been aggressive.”

Hook and his partners are eager to begin operating the 10 full-size rides plus midway-style games to entice parents into booking longer stays at Utica’s resort and conference center.

Developers still hope to attract a mix of families and business conferences, but realistically, Grand Bear will not reap a steady flow of business event until 2007.

That places a renewed emphasis on bringing in families and encouraging them to stay long after the children have dried off following a day in the indoor water park.

All of which is good news for Utica, which has seen its tax base grow substantially thanks to the arrival of Grand Bear, an investment that is closing in on the $200 million mark.

“We’re going to try to promote the Enchanted Forest,” Utica mayor Fred Esmond said enthusiastically. “You have to keep the tourists busy.”

Source : Newstibs