Hoffman Estates entertainment center gets 10-year tax rebate
Hoffman Estates trustees Monday granted approval of a Main Event family entertainment center next to the Sears Centre Arena, as well as an economic incentive agreement allowing a partial rebate of entertainment taxes the complex generates to help fund its construction.
The planned 49,000-square-foot building includes space for 22 bowling lanes, laser tag, a ropes course, billiards, more than 100 different video games, a variety of dining options and a bar.
Main Event Entertainment, the Dallas-based company behind the project, opened its first Illinois location in Warrenville last September.
Visitors to the Hoffman Estates business will pay the village a 6 percent entertainment tax for each of its entertainment and sports activities. That is the funding source targeted by the 10-year economic incentive agreement, Hoffman Estates Planning Director Peter Gugliotta said. The deal will expire with either the village's refunding of $750,000 of Main Event's entertainment taxes or on Dec. 31, 2025 - whichever comes first.
The business, expected to open by June 30, 2016, is expected to generate an estimated $84,000 in food and beverage taxes and more than $250,000 in entertainment taxes for the village annually.
Under the agreement, Main Event will not have to pay any entertainment taxes during the partial year of 2016. For the nine years after that, the business will first have to pay an increasing threshold amount to the village before being eligible for any refund.
In 2017, the threshold is $200,000. It increases by 2 percent annually until it reaches $240,000 in 2025.
The amount of money above the threshold that the village would refund Main Event is 75 percent in 2017; 50 percent in 2018 and '19; 40 percent in 2020; 30 percent in 2021; 25 percent in 2022; 15 percent in 2023; and 10 percent in 2024 and '25.
Main Event also is expected to save some money on construction through the Illinois Enterprise Zone sales tax exemption in effect in the Prairie Stone Business Park. This lowers the cost of construction materials purchased in Illinois by 8 percent to 9 percent.
Such materials generally account for about 40 percent of total construction costs.