Gary’s $5 Billion Michael Jackson Theme Park That Never Was

If you were told that Gary was almost like Graceland, would you believe it?

For a brief moment in the mid-1990s, Gary stood on the edge of a radically different future. City leaders and members of the Jackson family began discussing plans for a theme park in Gary, an idea that soon expanded into something far more ambitious.

Envisioned as a destination on par with Graceland, the home of Elvis Presley in Memphis, Tennessee, and Dolly Parton’s Dollywood amusement park in Tennessee, the proposal promised jobs, tourism, and a new identity for a city long defined by steel. 

It never came to pass.

Lucille Rollins remembers when the idea first took shape. Her boss at the time, Mayor Thomas Barnes, was searching for ways to redefine Gary as the steel industry declined. As his chief of staff, Rollins, now 85, was often part of those early conversations.

“We shared his vision,” she said. 

Barnes, elected in 1987, began to question how to revitalize the city during his second term. One early concept focused on transforming Memorial Auditorium, a 5,000-seat venue built in 1927 to honor World War II veterans, into a performing arts center tied to Michael Jackson and his family. The building was demolished in 2020 after years of deterioration and a fire, despite being listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

All he needed was the family’s permission for his idea. But when approached in 1995, a different idea was thrown into the loop.

“When Michael was approached with that idea, he said that wasn’t good enough,” she said. “He wanted to do something on a grander scale that would last forever, and the entire city as a family could enjoy and benefit from.”

What followed was a proposal for a multibillion-dollar, privately funded development anchored by a Jackson family–themed amusement park, along with a performing arts center and museum space tied to both the family’s legacy and the city’s industrial history. 

Supporters said the project could transform Gary into a national tourist destination. Rollins said Barnes saw the project as a way to move Gary beyond its identity as the Steel City, as the decline of steel production forced the city to reconsider what it could become.

The plan ultimately unraveled amid a change in political leadership, questions about feasibility, and competing priorities within city government. Thirty years later, with a biopic of Michael Jackson just weeks away, the project’s proponents look back on what they see is a missed opportunity to launch one of the most ambitious development proposals in Gary’s history.

Inside the Jackson family pitch

Rollins was among the team of folks who flew to Anaheim, California, in December 1995 to the Jackson family home to discuss the plan. Between meeting different members of the family, exploring popular parks in the area, and discussing the logistics of what the park could be. It was two days she will never forget. 

“I felt at home,” Rollins said with a smile. “They made me feel at home as real down-to-earth people, even though they were the most famous family in the world.”

Chuck Hughes, a Gary city councilman at the time, also joined the trip. Now, the president and CEO of the Gary Chamber of Commerce, he remembers those two days like they were yesterday.

He arrived at the property with a Polaroid camera around his neck, eager to meet the family and better understand the plan.

The group ended up meeting with Joe, Katherine, Janet, Rebbie, and Jermaine. After sitting down with Brian Oxman, the family’s attorney at the time, they began outlining what the project could be.

“Nobody would’ve thought about Neverland or Graceland,” said Hughes as he flipped through the small photo book that he had of the trip. 

The proposed 232-acre development was planned near the intersection of Interstates 94 and 65 and was designed to feature a sprawling Jackson-themed amusement park, a performing arts center, and a Jackson Family museum that would have included the Jackson home that already attracts thousands of visitors each year. The proposal also included an adjacent museum highlighting the city’s industrial history and cultural legacy.

The project was expected to cost between $2 billion and $5 billion, none of which, Hughes said,  would have to come from city taxpayers.

Given the family’s global popularity at the time, the project was expected to be funded by private investors rather than by city taxpayers or the family. A nonprofit organization, named the 6594 Foundation, was to be created to donate a percentage of its revenue to the local community. 

“This was going to change the whole world, not only Gary,” Hughes said. 

By the time they returned in December 1995, the group had secured support and signatures from multiple parties involved in the project, with Michael Jackson expressing interest but waiting to see whether the city itself would fully embrace the plan.

But much of that momentum faded when Barnes decided not to seek reelection and a new mayor prepared to take office.

A new mayor, a different vision

Scott King took office as mayor of Gary in 1996, right as plans for the theme park were being finalized between the family and the previous administration. 

King, a Chicago native, was first introduced to Northwest Indiana while attending law school in Valparaiso. He later worked as a deputy prosecutor in Lake County, primarily in Gary, and moved to the city in 1978. As mayor, he hoped to bring change to the city by prioritizing stabilizing city services, including policing, fire protection, and sanitation.

“I grew frustrated with the lack of direction and lack of service,” King told Capital B Gary, reflecting on his decision to run for mayor. 

The theme park proposal, he said, did not align with those immediate needs.

“It just didn’t seem like a well-conceived plan,” King said. “There were a lot of other needs the city had.”

Among his concerns was the proposed site was near the Little Calumet River, which he said raised questions about flooding and long-term infrastructure demands. He also pointed to what he described as a lack of clear financial commitments and supporting analysis.

“In the absence of marketing studies, it was less than clear that the demand would have been there,” King said.

At the time, Gary was still operating without the additional revenue that would come later that year, when the Majestic Star casino opened in June 1996. King said the city faced pressing needs, including replacing fire equipment, improving sanitation services, and addressing infrastructure deficiencies. 

King said he would have viewed the proposal differently if its funding had been clearly defined and insulated from the city’s existing needs — “if there was a clear indication of a funding source that would not take away from other needs of the city for capital improvement.” 

King said his decision reflected the information available at the time and the city’s priorities.

“The Jackson theme park is an example of how much planning is required to make a project succeed,” he said.

At the time, King moved to block the deal, directing city officials not to lease city-owned land for the project.

“I’m not opposed to the prospect of a theme park for the Jacksons or anyone else; in fact I am prepared to do my utmost to support it,” King said at the time. “But the lease that the prior administration negotiated at the 11th hour was illegal, is fraught with conflict of interest, and is not a good deal for the city.”

Others involved in the proposal recall the moment differently.

Hughes, 77, who has several printouts of articles from that time, remembers the pushback that the theme park team received from King. 

“He said those characters and Jacksons are in cahoots to try to steal valuable Gary land,” he said, shaking his head, as he referenced a press conference the previous mayor held on the topic. 

“The Jacksons were not folks who [had] forsaken their hometown,” Hughes said. “They cared about their hometown.”

Hughes said he believes the project was killed due to control issues and a lack of confidence in the work. If completed, it was expected to bring over 5,000 jobs to the community between construction and operations, and 30% of the funds were supposed to go to the city, with 2% coming from the foundation’s donations, which could be used to fund developments around the city. 

After King vetoed the council’s approval of the theme park’s lease, and no follow-up vote or rebuttal occurred, the plan for Jackson Park fell apart, known only to a few in the community. 

A missed opportunity?

The plan for another Jackson family theme park has not resurfaced since those discussions decades ago.

“Just like every year, there are hundreds of people who come to Gary right now just to visit the Jacksons’ house and take pictures with the [home],” Rollins said. “Can you imagine, had the Jackson amusement park come to fruition as Michael had envisioned it?”

Michael Jackson purchased Neverland in California in 1988 and operated it as a private amusement park until 2005. Since his death in June 2009, the family has made other appearances and has performed at shows in Gary, but the proposed park has not been publicly mentioned.

Hughes said the breakdown in negotiations left a lasting impression.

“Would you after someone told you to beat it?” he said, referencing a newspaper headline from that time. “You can’t blame them.” 

Hughes and Rollins said they still see the project as a missed opportunity, one that might have reshaped the city’s economic trajectory.

“Had that been erected along with the casinos, which would have been hotels, restaurants, and other businesses that would have sprung up from that, and it would have been a huge economic development and turnaround for this city,” Rollins said. 

Hughes agreed. 

“That was a golden opportunity that was ruined for not only Gary but for all of Northwest Indiana,” he said. 

Both hate the rap that the famous family gets, especially from local community members. 

“They don’t know the truth, so they keep blaming the Jacksons,” he said. “That’s so unfair to them and to Mrs. Jackson, in particular.”

Katherine Jackson, at 95, remains a respected figure in Gary, where residents still recall the family’s early years before their rise to global fame.

For Rollins and Hughes, the story is not only about what might have been, but about how decisions are made.

They also hope to use this tale as a cautionary tale, especially when the city undergoes redevelopment efforts. 

“Hopefully, it’ll prevent people for whatever wrong reasons, from destroying stuff that could benefit the community,” Hughes said. “I think Gary’s going the right direction, but this is a lesson learned.”