Cabela's drives hotel plans in Hammond

HAMMOND | AmeriHost Inn is one of the businesses already preparing for a predicted influx of visitors who will be lured to the area by Cabela's, its merchandise and its mountain.

The hotel at 7813 Indianapolis Blvd., immediately off of Interstate 80/94, is planning a brand change, a renovation and possibly an expansion. It is located across the boulevard from the former Woodmar County Club, where today Cabela's representatives will join state and city officials to announce the giant outdoors outfitter's intention to build there.

The AmeriHost Inn brand is being retired and will be replaced by year's end. Although the hotel's local owners haven't decided on the new brand yet, general manager Lisa Gibson said they're excited about the switch and the future of the property, which was last updated about 10 years ago.

"They see an opportunity here we've never had before," she said. "Who would ever dream we'd have a Cabela's here? It's a great opportunity for us and the area."

Today, Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. is hosting a press conference with Gov. Mitch Daniels, Secretary of Commerce Michael Maurer and Cabela's executives to announce plans for Hammond's version of Cabela's, which is listed as a top tourist attraction in many of the states in which it operates.

Cabela's carries more than a million items for fishermen, hunters, campers, boaters and other outdoor activities in its 150,000-to-250,000-square-foot stores.

But Cabela's 14 current locations are as well know for their educational and entertainment attractions, their animal displays in colorful dioramas, huge aquariums stocked with native fish and their centerpiece indoor mountain that displays trophy animals in re-creations of their natural habitats.

Kristin Mach, who is director of marketing and public relations for Casto, a Columbus, Ohio-based real estate development firm that owns 65 percent of the Hammond's AmeriHost, said the company is planning on upgrading and renovating the hotel in the near future. Casto has owned the hotel since it was a Howard Johnson's franchise in the 1970s.

"Everything is in the planning stages," Mach said. "It may include adding rooms, but that's not been decided. It's time for a renovation, but this news about Cabela's is pushing for us to do it a little quicker.

"We're really excited about it. It's a great national chain that we think will bring a lot of life to the area."