OWNERS CLOSE KID CLUB; LOW TURNOUT BRINGS VERTI-GOGO HIATUS.

Byline: Stacy Brown Daily News Staff Writer

The much-ballyhooed private teen club that opened at the Mountasia amusement park has closed temporarily for lack of business, the owner said Friday.

The Verti-Gogo club will reopen in the next few weeks, said co-owner Jay Schutz.

``When someone is ill, you don't say they are dead. We've taken a hiatus until after the local football season is over,'' Schutz said.

Verti-Gogo was opened Oct. 10 at Mountasia by partners Peter Goossens and McDonald's franchise operator Schutz. After an opening night crowd that neared capacity, Schutz said attendance waned because of local high school football games and the fact that high school students were reluctant to socialize with their junior high counterparts.

``The older kids didn't want to be with the junior high kids and parents also had some concerns,'' Schutz said. ``It's also hard to have something where parents are there and it's supervised. Some kids choose to go to places that are unsupervised, free and alcohol is available.''

When the club reopens, visitors will see a new security force and students also will be able to help raise money for their schools, Schutz said.

``So it'll be like a fund-raiser and also we are going to use Mountasia security because a lot of the kids were intimidated by the other security guards,'' Schutz said.

Also, for each student that attends the club, his or her school will be given $1 from the owners. ``So if 500 students come from a school, their school will be given a $500 donation,'' Schutz said.

The club originally was established to operate as a members-only function. Members were to be charged a yearly fee in addition to an entrance fee. An average of 450 members attended each night, well short of the nearly 1,500 needed to turn a profit, Schutz said.

``Now we're catering to the 11- to 14-year-old group and I'm optimistic this will succeed,'' Schutz said.