Excited for Manteca's new waterslide plans? Here are $100 million more reasons
Manteca took another, unanimous step toward bringing a waterslide back within its borders.
Last week, the Manteca City Council voted 5-0 to approve key measures meant to move forward a development by Great Wolf Resorts. The Midwestern-based company runs indoor water-park resorts throughout the United States and Canada.
The proposed Great Wolf Lodge would be the first in Northern California. It would also be the first water park to return to the region since the Manteca Waterslides closed in 2004.
"We feel Manteca would be a great fit for a Great Wolf Lodge, and we are grateful to city leaders and community members for the courtesy they've shown throughout the evaluation process," said Great Wolf Resorts spokeswoman Rebecca Smith. "We value their partnership and support, and we hope to reach final consensus in the near future."
The city and Great Wolf Resorts have been negotiating to bring a waterslide back to Manteca on-and-off for the past decade. The city council's most recent approvals included a development agreement, master plan amendments, tentative parcel map extensions and more in its ongoing efforts to secure the project.
Construction is expected to begin later this year with a planned opening in 2020. The resort is slated to go up in an empty lot on the western end of Daniels Street, next to Costco and adjacent to the Big League Dreams Sports Park just off Highway 120.
The 510,000-square-foot facility would include a 500-room, 310,000-square-foot hotel and 100,000-square-foot indoor water park. The complex also would have a family entertainment center, restaurant and food court, and meeting and banquet rooms.
City officials said the resort is projected to produce a net fiscal surplus of $1 million annually for Manteca, and create more than 375 on-site jobs. Over a 30-year period, the city expects to receive $100 million in net revenue in property, sales and hotel taxes.
Manteca City Manager Tim Ogden called the project a "huge" win for the region and said, "The city has been working toward this type of project for nearly a decade, and in our centennial year, it is a game-changer for our next 100 years."
The Manteca Waterslides were a Central Valley fixture for 30 years. Opened in 1974, the attraction at Oakwood Lake brought generations of families in to enjoy its pools and slides — not to mention get its catchy jingle stuck in their heads. Great Wolf Resorts has 17 locations across the country and one in Canada. The only other lodge in California is in the southern half of the state near Anaheim.
This story was originally published March 27, 2018 at 5:15 PM with the headline "Excited for Manteca's new waterslide plans? Here are $100 million more reasons."