Mayor Rahm Emanuel today joined Great Wolf Resorts, Inc., North America’s largest family of indoor waterpark resorts, to open the company’s new corporate headquarters in Chicago. The new office, dubbed Wolf Den Chicago, currently houses 45 Great Wolf Resort pack members, with the ability to expand to up to 100 employees based on future company growth.     

“Chicago has the talent and transportation that expanding companies like Great Wolf need to compete in the 21st century economy,” Mayor Emanuel said. “I look forward to seeing the Wolf Pack continue to grow and thrive in its new den in Chicago.”

The Mayor joined Great Wolf Resorts’ Chief Executive Officer, Rubén Rodriguez, for the ribbon cutting ceremony at the new office, which is located in the Chicago Sun-Times building at N. Orleans Street and Kinzie Street.  

“We have aggressive growth plans for our brand, and our new Wolf Den Chicago is a fantastic corporate hub, with its central location and easy travel access to our lodges and development sites. Chicago also gives us great access to professionals across many functions and industries as we grow our corporate pack. This is a wonderful city and we are proud and excited to join the Chicago community,” said Rodriguez. “We’re making a significant investment and placing a rather large paw print in the Chicago area, not only with our new corporate office, but with a new 414-room Great Wolf Lodge resort opening in Gurnee next summer.”

The grand opening of Wolf Den Chicago comes one week after the company purchased property in the Village of Gurnee. At the site, an existing resort will be completely transformed, and Great Wolf Resorts will open Great Wolf Lodge Illinois, a dynamic new family resort. The opening of Great Wolf Lodge Illinois next summer will give Chicagoland families easy access to the incredible array of family-friendly attractions, entertainment offerings, dining venues and accommodations available at all Great Wolf Lodge resorts.

“With each new development we strive to find new ways to enhance and improve the guest experience, and Great Wolf Lodge Illinois will feature our latest and greatest guest amenities,” added Rodriguez.

Last month Site Selection Magazine named Chicago as the top metro in the country for corporate relocations for the fourth year in a row. In 2016, the Chicago metro area saw more new and expanding corporate locations than any other area in the country. World Business Chicago tracked a record 350 business expansions and relocations in the Chicago metro. These projects accounted for more than $2.8 billion in investment and nearly 14,000 new jobs.

Great Wolf Lodge Illinois will be the company’s 17th resort, and the third new resort scheduled to open in the next 18-months. The other two resorts scheduled to open in that timeframe include Great Wolf Lodge Minnesota, opening in Bloomington, Minn. in late 2017, and Great Wolf Lodge Georgia, scheduled to open in LaGrange, Ga. in late spring 2018.  

Design details and resort amenities are still being finalized for Great Wolf Lodge Illinois, and the company plans to unveil additional details later this year, with grand opening date for the new resort scheduled for summer of 2018.

For more information on Great Wolf Resorts and its brands of indoor waterpark resorts, guests are encouraged to visit greatwolf.com.

###

About Great Wolf Resorts, Inc.
Great Wolf Resorts, Inc. is North America’s largest family of indoor waterpark resorts, and through its subsidiaries and affiliates, owns and operates family resorts under the Great Wolf Lodge brand.  Great Wolf Resorts is a fully integrated resort company with Great Wolf Lodge locations in: Wisconsin Dells, Wis.; Sandusky, Ohio; Traverse City, Mich.; Kansas City, Kan.; Williamsburg, Va.; Pocono Mountains, Pa.; Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada; Mason, Ohio; Grapevine, Texas; Grand Mound, Wash.; Fitchburg, Mass., Charlotte, N.C.; Garden Grove, Calif. and Colorado Springs, Colo. Additional resorts planned include Bloomington, Minn. (late 2017), LaGrange, Ga. (late spring 2018) and Gurnee, Ill. (summer 2018).

Additional information may be found on the company’s online media center.