BusinessTN

In a time of recession, with construction projects on hold and completion dates sketchy, Sevierville was more than happy to bring on seasoned tourism and hospitality veterans--brothers Pete and Patrick Helland and Tim and Tom Lucke--to open the area's first indoor water park resort, Wilderness at the Smokies. The Wisconsin-based families successfully debuted the still-expanding indoor attraction in December 2008, just three years after first presenting the plan to the city's Public Building Authority (PBA).

The foursome scanned the country looking for the ideal location on which to expand their empire beyond the natural draw of the Wisconsin Dells--a seven-mile stretch along the Wisconsin River that bills itself as the Water Park Capital of the World. The Hellands have a century-long history in water-based tourism--their family was running paddleboat tours in the Dells in the early 1900s. In 1995, they partnered with the Luckes and opened the Wilderness Hotel & Golf Resort there with 79 units, an indoor water park, two outdoor pools and a spa.

"The Smokies reminds us a lot of what we see in the Dells," says Pete Helland, Wilderness owner and director of development. Indeed, the wilderness areas in both Sevier County and the Dells serve identical niches as nature-based family vacation destinations, allowing the brothers to use the same marketing and branding initiatives in place in Wisconsin.

In an area already chock full of attractions, the new Wilderness Resort is expected to hold its own, both in terms of catching the eye and attracting the dollars. The resort and its companion hotel and water park, connected to the Sevierville Events Center, make up 700 acres of the city's 1,000-acre Bridgemont development that also includes a golf course and a retail complex. (Indoor water activities alone take up more than 60,000 square feet.) The Wilderness' 55-foot-tall, orange-and-white funnel that houses the Storm Catcher Water Thrill Ride is visible to travelers on Highway 66 and sure to appeal to car-loads of kids as much as any scenic, tree-lined ridge.

And that's an appeal that will be in effect regardless of the season. As an indoor/outdoor attraction, operations will run year round--something virtually every seasonal Sevier County business has been striving for. David Sangree, president of Cleveland, Ohio-based Hotel & Leisure Advisors who has done work for the Hellands, applauded the Wilderness owners for being "smart in their financing," especially with new building loans for water parks becoming harder to get.

"Sevier County is a good choice as a family market," Sangree says, adding that he's surprised it has taken this long for an indoor water park resort to be built there.

In addition, Helland and his partners took advantage of Sevierville incentives associated with the Commercial Business Improvement District (CBID). Designated four years ago, the CBID stretches from Interstate 40 along state Highway 66 to downtown Sevierville (the much-touted Billion Dollar Highway). As intended, Sevierville is benefiting, as well.

"Wilderness would not be here if it weren't for PBA projects, and Wilderness is proving to be a significant provider to city revenues," says Sevierville city administrator Steve Hendrix. "Since they are not finished with construction, we anticipate that Wilderness revenue generation will only improve in the future."

That's key, considering a June Sevierville PBA report showed that while the CBID has collected enough revenue to make principle and interest payments on the $150 million in bonds it issued to make the CBID a reality, income to cover associated CBID expenses is still coming up short. With 30% of its visitors purporting to be first-timers to the Smokies (according to Helland), Wilderness at the Smokies could play a large role in eliminating that deficit.