In terms of tourism, can the Odyssey Fun World in Tinley Park hope to compete with Walt Disney World in Florida?
In its own way, it already does, says Jim Garrett, president of the Chicago Southland Convention and Visitors Bureau, based in Lansing.
The Odyssey is a popular south suburban destination, he said. Its 15-acre site at 191st Street and Oak Park Avenue has a 43,000-square-foot building open year-round that offers more than 200 video games, laser tag and a pizza restaurant. In good weather, outdoor attractions include go-karts, bumper boats and two 18-hole miniature golf courses.
No, it’s not Orlando, but combine it with the 30,000-seat capacity New World Music Theatre at 191st Street and Ridgeland Avenue and the soon-to-open Tinley Park Convention Center at 183rd Street and Harlem Avenue and you have an enviable triple attraction for visitors, Garrett says.
Odyssey Fun World assistant manager Mike Giannetti said the bureau plays an important role in the success of the amusement center.
“We actually are very close partners with them and keep an open line of communication between us,” Giannetti said.
The nearby theater also accounts for customers.
“A lot of people will come here before concerts or after concerts,” Giannetti said. “They are looking for something else to do. So for that same reason, we are looking forward to the (Tinley Park) convention center’s opening as well.”
The bureau serves a 400-square-mile area that ranges from Midway Airport on the north to Peotone on the south, and from the Indiana border west almost to Joliet.
“We know we’re not a clearly defined national destination, like Orlando, San Antonio, Salt Lake City or Chicago,” Garrett said, “but we do have a lot of attractions, and we try to help the visitors staying in the area to experience those opportunities.”
Tinley Park and Orland Park are just two of the 60 south and southwest Chicago suburbs that the bureau promotes, but they are important ones, Garrett said.
Orland Park is noted for a particularly strong selection of retail shopping opportunities, from department stores in large malls to two clusters of antique shops in the village’s historic downtown area, along Beacon and Union Streets.
“Antiques are an important draw to the area,” Garrett said. “It is a niche market, but you’d be surprised at the number of people who travel throughout the Midwest looking for new antique opportunities–and there are some really good ones in Orland Park.”
The bureau publishes a special antiques guide, listing the shops and locations.
A key feature of the Chicago Southland is affordability, Garrett said. Visitors will find overnight accommodations much less expensive than those in downtown Chicago or many other suburbs. The region’s nearly 5,000 motel rooms range from modest to luxury.
“We’re just letting people know that we do have some great facilities and some wonderful things going on,” Garrett said. “If they visit, why, they just might be very surprised.”
The Chicago Southland Convention and Visitors Bureau can be called toll-free at 888-895-8233 or e-mailed at info@cscvb.com. The bureau also maintains a Web site at www.lincolnnet.net/Chicago-Southland-CVB/
