Algonquin's fees could mean game over for potential arcade

The cost of licensing fees could thwart a plan to bring an arcade of classic video games like “Pac-Man,” “Frogger” and “Galaga” to Algonquin.

Business partners Mark Battaglia of Huntley and Kevin Slota of Chicago want to open a “No Limit Arcade” with at least 60 video games, plus pinball machines, driving games, air hockey and more, at 2719 W. Algonquin Road in the Winding Creek shopping center.

The village, however, imposes a yearly $120 licensing fees on video games, which Slota called “prohibitive.”

The fee might be OK for bars and restaurants with only a couple of video games, or for large outfits like Brunswick Zone, which gets revenues from individual games, bowling, and food and alcohol sales, Battaglia said.

At the Algonquin arcade, customers would pay a $15 admission fee to play unlimited games, instead of the traditional “pay-as-you-go” method, Slota said. The “no coin” or “free play” model is exempt from licensing fees under state law, Slota said. However, individual municipalities can impose their own fees.

On Tuesday, Slota and Battaglia asked members of Algonquin's committee of the whole to waive the licensing fees for their arcade games, but trustees were unwilling to do that.

“I don't think our machine fee is overly costly,” said Village President John Schmitt, who added he thought the business would be successful. “Just like any other municipality, we're not rolling in dough.”

Trustees, however, voted to charge only a bulk amount of licensing fees, rather than impose a fee each time the a specific machine is substituted with another one.

Trustee Robert Smith said he liked the idea of a business geared to kids. “Instead of playing Xbox at home, it gets them out of the house,” he said.

The business would attract customers from Algonquin, but also from other communities, Slota pointed out. “There's a whole community of people; they travel in leagues from Joliet, Aurora, DeKalb to different classic arcade stops,” he said.

Slota believes his business model will appeal to cost-savvy consumers. “At Brunswick Zone, with the redemption machines, you go there with one kid and you'll spend $30 in about an hour,” he said. “That's killed off a lot of the arcades.”

Slota also said the partners were considering contacting local school districts to workout some sort of performance incentive model where top students could get arcade passes.

The partners said they still hope the village will waive the fees once the board votes on the special use permit at its next meeting Sept. 6.

In the meantime, though, they will start looking around for alternate locations for the arcade in McHenry County, they said.