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Just a few days after the announcement of a delayed opening to 2014, the Koch family has created a stir by stating that she was withdrawing permanently from the Bluegrass Boardwalk project that sought to take over the management of the former Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville, KY.
The Koch, already owners of Holiday World & Splashin' Safari, IN, started to work on this project in October last year and obtained a few months ago a lease agreement from the Kentucky State Fair, owners of the land on which the amusement park is. Since then, administrative procedures added to a first study of the facilities and rides closed since 2008 had forced them to delay the opening initially scheduled for 2013.
“We entered into this discussion last October with full expectation of leasing the park,” said Bluegrass Boardwalk CEO Natalie Koch. “However, we have come to the realization that leasing a park rather than owning it would take us too far from the business model my family has followed for more than 60 years. We and our partners were financially prepared to meet the challenge of reopening the abandoned park, however the many layers of governmental regulations and stipulations ultimately caused them to withdraw .”
Just before this announcement, the Koch had received a positive answer from the state authorities for tax breaks of up $3.9 million (about €3.1 million) over 10 year, paving the way for the signing of the lease and the beginning of the renovation work. “It’s been a lifelong dream for my family to operate a second park,” added natalie Koch. “It’s hard to walk away from what we believed was a winning partnership for Kentucky and our team. But at the end of the day, the terms of the project did not fit our business model. It was time to withdraw.”
It is not the first time that a buyer gives up to managing Kentucky Kingdom. The first owner of the park, Ed Hart, has indeed tried unsuccessfully to obtain the management lead after Six Flags left the property despite 18 months of negociations with the Kentucky State Fair. Despite this disapointing news, the autorities and especially Louisville's Major still hope to find a new tenant for the park. Discussions are apparently already under way with new potential operators... But it is hard to say if these will succeed or not...
These past three years have been intense for NewsParcs. Our magazine, which has been dedicated to the global theme parks industry since 1998, underwent major changes to become one of the most appreciated magazines among many...
CORPORATE | NewsParcs - Published on January 28, 2014
Our Theme Park Supplier's News of the Week is a round-up of the latest news relative to companies supplying the theme park industry around the world. This weekly report covers topics such as corporate announcements, financial ...
The NewsParcs' Theme Park Supplier's News of the Week is a round-up of the latest news relative to companies supplying the theme park industry around the world. This weekly report covers topics such as corporate announcements, ...
Our Industry Roundup is a summary of the latest major news related to the theme park industry worldwide. We report news specifically on operators, owners, trade associations and related organizations, including trends, attendance...