CARBONDALE - A Carbondale man wants to see the United States' second Legoland theme park constructed in Southern Illinois.

Dennis Smith recently sent a letter to the Lego Corp. after seeing its California theme park on the Internet. Lego, the manufacturer of the popular children's building block toys, operates amusement parks in California, the United Kingdom, Denmark and Germany.

Smith has never visited any of the other Legoland locations, but after visiting Six Flags St. Louis, he started researching various amusement parks and decided to contact Lego about building a park between Carbondale and Murphysboro. The company responded to Smith's inquiry by sending him a letter about its California location and its LEGO Club.

"Careful consideration must go into a decision of such major importance, so I'm referring your letter on to the appropriate managers for review," the letter said.

Julie Estrada, spokesperson for the California park, said plans are in the works for building a second Legoland in the United States but a location has not been selected yet.

Smith followed up with his own letters to the Jackson County Board, Carbondale Mayor Brad Cole and Murphysboro Mayor Ron Williams. He said he wanted to show them the support of the project and its potential to create jobs for the region.

Williams said such a project would be wonderful for Jackson County because it would give local residents an additional entertainment option and also would attract tourists to the area.

The project would be too large for a municipality to handle, so an outside planner would need to be used, he said. Williams ensured Smith the city would do whatever it could to help with the project, including aiding with utility service.

Smith's plan for the theme park also includes the addition of a zoo featuring "animals from all over the world" and a water park.

"I've talked to a lot of people and they're hoping it comes here," he said.

While waiting to hear news on the new Legoland park, Estrada said Smith and other Lego enthusiasts could rejoice in knowing the United States' first Legoland Discovery Center, which she described as a smaller version of Legoland, will be opening near Chicago this August.

adam.testa@thesouthern.com

351-5031