At 40, Great America remains centerpiece of Gurnee tourism efforts
For all of Gurnee's vast retail development, what local officials are most proud of is the family entertainment image they've crafted.
And at the root of that image is Six Flags Great America.
Known as Marriott's Great America when it opened 40 years ago in 1976, the amusement park has led to other family attractions, such as KeyLime Cove Water Resort, an ice rink, a movie theater, Rainforest Cafe at Gurnee Mills and more, setting up shop in the village. Over the years, restaurants, hotels and other tourism-related businesses have followed to help attract millions of visitors each year and the money they spend to have fun.
Mayor Kristina Kovarik, who's cited Gurnee's family-friendly tourist image in the village board's opposition to allowing video gambling in town, said Great America works as hard as ever to remain a desirable place to visit.
"They're very, very conscious of creating a safe environment," Kovarik said. "A great experience. It's how you're greeted, it's how you're treated, the park is clean."
An estimated 105 million visitors have flocked to the theme park just east of the Tri-State Tollway and Grand Avenue in what now is its 41st season of operation and the 40th anniversary year. Great America, KeyLime Cove and Gurnee Mills - the "crown jewels," as Kovarik calls them - help drive roughly 26 million visitors to the village annually.
While Six Flags Entertainment Corp. does not release exact yearly attendance figures, Great America President Hank Salemi said the park drew more patrons last year than in 2014, when the roller coaster Goliath debuted. Goliath is billed as the fastest, tallest and steepest wooden roller coaster in the world.
Salemi said he's proud of how the park continues to evolve and looks to the future, evidenced by this year's addition of the cutting-edge, indoor, superhero-themed thrill ride "Justice League: Battle for Metropolis" that opened a little more than a week ago.
"We are just continuing to make advancements," Salemi said. "The park has changed tremendously in that amount of time. You talk about big milestones of change. Marriott selling the park back in the mid '80s and then the introduction of things like Batman the Ride in 1992, Raging Bull in '99, the opening of Hurricane Harbor, our water park, in 2005. We've just continued to evolve and change and grow."
Six Flags documents offer a glimpse into what the park's financial muscle means to Gurnee, Lake County and the state. Using the Illinois Office of Tourism's estimate that each visitor spends an average of $100 per day, Great America has generated $100 billion in tourism revenue for the state since 1976, according to the documents. The most recently available estimate showed roughly $280 million in Illinois tourism dollars were expected from the park in 2013.
In addition, Great America has paid at least $44.2 million in taxes to the state, Lake County and Gurnee during the past five years. The village's 3 percent amusement tax on Great America tickets accounted for most of the category's budgeted income of $1.9 million in 2015-16.
About 20 million out-of-town visitors have been to Great America during its 40 years, Six Flags documents show.
Maureen Riedy, president of the Visit Lake County tourism bureau, said the park has helped the overall goal of getting people to extend their stays.
"I see it as a destination driver for the whole county," Riedy said. "I think it really puts Lake County on the map in terms of being a tourism destination, so maybe people are planning a weekend getaway around Six Flags but then do some of the other things to do here."