Midwestern magic Three design firms in the American heartland make unique contributions to the global attractions industry by Ben Cober
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n the United States, the attractions industry is sometimes perceived as a coastal industry because of the theme park destination hubs of Orlando and Los Angeles (with attendant creative/vendor communities) and the many venerable design firms in New England. This is an oversimplification, of course. The industry is culturally and geographically varied and diverse. Its regional riches span a wide range of attractions, and numerous world-class design firms call the American Midwest home while serving a regional, national and global clientele. Here, we explore three such design companies: JRA in Cincinnati, Ohio; Weber Group in Sellersburg, Indiana; and Sage Creative Group, in Chicago; with a view to understanding the unique “Midwest magic” each brings to the industry and their craft.
JRA: Valuing people In his nearly 30 years overseeing Cincinnati-based JRA, Keith James has lost count of how many times he’s been asked about moving the company to a coast. Most of these conversations begin with highlighting the hypothetical advantages associated with a single project or potential client, and they all end with the confident affirmation that the company is already located where it should be. “Home is our people. If we opened on the coast, we’d have to move 45 people with us, because JRA is our team,” says James, who is a past president of the Themed Entertainment Association as well as recipient of TEA’s lifetime honor, the Buzz Price Thea Award for a Lifetime of Distinguished Achievements. (Company founder Jack Rouse, from whom James acquired
The FRIENDS™ Experience empowers superfans to find themselves in the iconic scenes of one of history’s most successful sitcoms.
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Chloe Hausfeld
Keith James
Dan Schultz
the company several years ago on Rouse’s retirement, has also received Thea lifetime honors.) “If we can do what we need to do and be successful from Cincinnati, why would I want to go anywhere else?” And JRA has certainly been successful from Cincinnati as a provider of master planning, attraction planning and design, content development, and project management to numerous attraction markets. Those in search of a versatile collaborator may knock on JRA’s doors, having seen Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, one of the world’s largest indoor theme parks, on which JRA served as master planner, designer, and project manager. The park recently marked its 10th anniversary. Turning from speed and adrenaline to comedy and unique interactive exhibits, JRA is a professional funny bone-tickler. TIME magazine named the JRA-designed National Comedy Center in Jamestown, New York as one of the “World’s Greatest Places of 2019,” while The FRIENDS™ Experience, also a JRA project, empowers superfans to find themselves in the iconic scenes of one of history’s most successful sitcoms. As a young man, Keith James started out at then recently opened Kings Island in Mason, Ohio. Subsequently, he worked with Canada’s Wonderland, Australia’s Wonderland, and Universal Studios Florida. He talked about the value of gaining experience on both the operations and the creative supplier sides. “Certainly, there’s the objective benefit of simply understanding how an attraction operates, having been on the inside for so many years,” reflects James. “But more importantly, there’s an empathy that accompanies it. You understand what their teams have been through, what they’re going through, and what they hope for – because you’ve been in that seat yourself. When collaborating on a new attraction, the only person not in the room is the most important one – the guest.”
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