In a city once known for its water slides, Manteca is one step closer to becoming a water slide Mecca, again.
On Tuesday night, the city's planning commission unanimously voted to green light a $200 million Great Wolf Lodge project.
"I am totally elated. This has been a process that has been a long time coming," said Manteca Mayor Steve DeBrum. "What we are looking at is a project that is not only going to support Manteca, it's going to support the region. It's a 'win-win' for everything that we look at."
The Great Wolf Lodge is a combination of an indoor water park, entertainment center and hotel complex.There are 18 Great Wolf Lodges in the United States and Manteca would be the 19th, and only the second in California.
The 510,000 square-foot facility will house 500 rooms, along with a food and restaurant court, meeting rooms and a 100,000 square-foot indoor water park.
"It's very exciting. I'm very excited about the economic vitality it will bring to the city. And I think it will help our economy. It will create jobs," said Joann Beattie, Executive Director of the Manteca Chamber of Commerce.
An estimated $4.3 million worth of hotel tax revenue is estimated for the city. The project is proposed on a 30 acre site north of Highway 120, next to a Costco and a Big League Dreams baseball complex.
The city council will vote on the project at their March 20 meeting. If approved, groundbreaking would take place as early as 2018 in the summer or fall.
The two-year project would be completed in the spring of 2020.
