Over the next month, the pizza buffet restaurant on the city’s southwest side will open a 20,000-square-foot Fun Zone Arcade with the help of Tax Incremental Financing (TIF). The arcade is currently under construction and will be built as an extension of the existing restaurant at 916 Gateway Drive.

The Baraboo City Council approved releasing a maximum of $80,000 in TIF funds for the project in a 6-3 vote on Aug. 13. Councilors David Olson, Jason Kent and Andrea Lombard voted no. County and city taxes will not be affected by the measure.

“We want to attract a larger audience and provide them with more entertainment options so they can enjoy their time at Baraboo Pizza Ranch,” said store manager Treyton Lenz. “We also want to create a place where parents can have birthday parties and family reunions with their children.”

Construction on the Baraboo Fun Zone began in June and will be completed in mid- to late September, Lenz said. The arcade will have about 30 games and numerous prizes, slightly more than the 24 games in Portage.

Project planning began in late 2023 under previous owners Ken and Mary Dressen and continued under new ownership group PR Baraboo, which took over management in April, according to managing director Julia Kauten.

The future Fun Zone, which will be built on the east side of the restaurant, will offer visitors to the Wisconsin Dells area the opportunity to have fun away from the crowds in the tourist area, especially on weekends, according to Kauten.

In addition to setting up the Fun Zone, the restaurant is also renovating and expanding its parking lot.

Baraboo Pizza Ranch is located in the city’s TIF District No. 11. The arcade addition is expected to cost about $800,000 to build, and tax increment financing may cover up to $80,000.

“Without the TIF, it might not be as timely or as valuable as it otherwise could be,” said city engineer Tom Pinion, adding that the funding will help offset construction and development costs.

Council members, including Kent and Lombard, criticized the fact that the funding was not proposed until construction on the Fun Zone project was already underway.

The funding proposal was presented to the City Council later than planned because Pinion and Pat Cannon, director of the Community Development Authority, had other priorities to consider during their time as interim city managers, Pinion said.

Current City Manager John Young took over on July 8 after Pinion and Cannon filled the void left by Casey Bradley, who took the same position in Sheboygan last October.

Kent wasn’t entirely convinced that the project passed the “but-for test” within the TIF or whether the funding is necessary to increase economic activity or tax revenue in the district. Lombard has expressed her opposition to TIF districts and projects since she began representing District 5 in April.

Pinion said the project funding is a “good deal” for the city. He said the 10 percent TIF funding of the overall project is a lower percentage than other city projects in TIF districts.

Pinion said the potential for higher tax revenues and property values ​​in the coming years could negate the funding, adding that funding is contingent on revenue generated.