It took just two weeks for the world to change.
On March 6 before the start of a sneak preview hard hat tour of the $180 million complex that includes the signature 95,000-square-foot indoor water park, 45,000-square-foot family entertainment center complete with restaurants, and amusements, a 500-room hotel, and a 12,000-square-foot conference center Great Wolf CEO Murray Hennessy announced the resort that is likely to become a Manteca icon would open a month early on July 1.
That triggered a round of applause and a rush to book rooms online.
Two weeks later, Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a COVID-19 pandemic health emergency.
Instead of opening July 1, Great Wolf pushed the opening back twice — first to Oct. 27 and then Dec. 17.
On Wednesday the decision was made to move back the resort opening a third time to March 23.
The summer opening that morphed into a start of winter opening may now be an early spring opening assuming the pandemic crests by then and San Joaquin County with the rest of California — particularly the critical Bay Area market — is heading toward the two bottom COVID protocol tiers instead of being stuck in the top two.
Great Wolf’s policy allows those who have already booked reservations to change them without being charged.
Despite social media bloggings mixed with a high dose of local politics, the City of Manteca isn’t out any money for costs they have incurred through having Great Wolf’s growth-related fees being covered by a part of the room tax the resort generates. That’s because the growth fees are for impacts once guests start using the complex. There is no wastewater treatment capacity of treated water capacity being consumed if no one is flushing toilets or taking showers. The same is true for fees collected for streets, government facilities such as new fire stations, and community parks among others.
The impact city will be hurt with by the delayed opening is the loss of anticipated room taxes that — even though they are being split over a 25-year period once the doors open with the city’s share getting larger at various option until it is 100 percent — could be as high as $1.8 million a term a full 12 months of operation at 70 percent capacity.
Had Great Wolf opened next moth as planned, the city could have received between $450,000 to $900,000 for the current fiscal year that would have helped ease the pain somewhat of the projected $6 million hit general fund revenues are expected to take due to COVID-19 protocols that have severely impacted business which in turn hurts sales tax and hotel tax receipts.
The other losers are the people who had been offered positions for most of the 550 jobs as well as Great Wolf Resorts itself that is servicing $180 million in debt
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com
