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Commissioners planning summit bonds board members Read more on Topsail Voice Virginia’s effort for Race to the Top funds modest so far Read more on Washington Post County fair organizers seek artifacts Read more on Post-Bulletin
HOPEWELL VALLEY: Local officials find fault with tax pact Read more on Hopewell Valley News Business Calendar Read more on Poughkeepsie Journal
“Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom announced this evening that „as it nears the scheduled end of its restructuring process, it has decided to reject its lease with the Kentucky State Fair Board relating to the Kentucky Kingdom Park. In recent weeks, Six Flags had proposed a new lease arrangement to the fair board that would have enhanced the viability and future of the park. Unfortunately, those proposals were not accepted and the park will cease operations and the company will move expeditiously to re-locate employees and several of the more than 40 rides and attractions to one of its 13 other markets." The statement misrepresents what has taken place. Approximately thirty days ago, the Kentucky State Fair Board (KSFB) reached out to Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom (SFKK) to offer to extend the park‟s bankruptcy court-imposed deadline of January 9, 2010 to either accept or reject its lease with the KSFB. The KSFB initiated dialogue with SFKK in an attempt to allow the park to maintain its operations. However, SFKK did not schedule a meeting with me until January 4, 2010, only days before the bankruptcy court-imposed deadline. At that point the KSFB did not have any financial information regarding the profitability of the park and only obtained that information a few days ago.
While holding out hope for a last-minute turnaround, Louisville officials said Friday that Six Flags appears intent on closing Kentucky Kingdom — weeks after asking for a deal in which it would pay for use of the park grounds only if it turned a profit. Six Flags CEO Mark Shapiro told reporters Thursday night that the bankrupt company’s decision to close the Kentucky park was final and that the announcement was not an effort to squeeze better terms out of the state fair board. Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson said that’s also the message Shapiro gave him in a conversation on Friday morning.
Cedar Fair’s proposed sale to Apollo Global Management is looking increasingly uncertain as oppposition mounts among investors. Q Investments and Neuberger Berman, which now own more than 25 percent of the company, say they plan to vote against the deal. That will make it tough for the Sandusky amusement park company to get the needed approval from at least two-thirds shareholders – especially since many smaller investors have voiced their opposition to what they say is a low sale price. Several investor lawsuits have been filed and could be combined into one class-action.
Mayor Jerry Abramson says there’s nothing he can do to keep Six Flags from walking away from its on the Kentucky Kingdom theme park. Six Flags is emerging from bankruptcy protection and announced yesterday (Thursday) that it could not work out a new lease agreement for the park with the State Fair Board. Abramson had hoped to help broker a new deal with Six Flags, but he says that’s not possible at this point “It’s my view that it’s out of my hands and it’s in the bankruptcy court, and the bankruptcy judge has got to be the ultimate decider of what is over and what is not over, of what will continue and what will not continue,†he says.
The management team at Freestyle Music Park announced today that delays in funding have not deterred their negotiations with potential investors; however, limited funds will force the company to close its business offices until a deal is agreed upon with the current owners. "While park management continues to pursue negotiations with potential investors, we have limited funds and need to use those assets toward the goal of bringing new investors to the park," said Freestyle Music Park General Manager Steve Baker. "We fully anticipate one of these deals will be satisfactory to the current owners. It’s a tedious process and is just taking much longer to come to final agreements than expected. Deals on the table are contingent upon the Park opening this season. With the time difference in Russia, we will be working around the clock to make these deals happen in the coming days – not weeks – days."
On a day that included a mix of combative exchanges between Thomas Etheredge and the prosecutor, and rousing patriotic and cowboy music, testimony in Etheredge’s securities fraud trial came to an end Friday. Before the state and defense rested their cases, Etheredge testified, "I don’t know how one could be more forthright than I have." Sedgwick County District Judge Ben Burgess will meet with attorneys from both sides Monday morning in his chambers to discuss his final instructions to the jury. The jury is scheduled to return at 1 p.m. Monday to hear closing arguments before beginning deliberations. A key part of the judge’s instructions will be what legal responsibility, if any, a potential investor has to learn about an investment.
After Thursday night’s bombshell from Six Flags that it is closing its Kentucky Kingdom theme park at the Fairgrounds, there are no signs of any reversal of that decision. A state fair board spokeswoman says she is not aware of any contact or changes. So what’s next? Harold Workman, Ky. Fair Board President, said, “Six Flags removed the Chang rollercoaster ride. They requested they able to remove it through me they requested that under the pretense that they were going to expand the water park and after showing me diagrams and pictures of what they were going to expand and what they were going to add and so on. So, we’re a little disappointed in the fact they removed a ride but never really moved on expanding the water park.†He said that at that point, the way the lease is worded makes it sounds like Chang could have belonged to the Fair Board because it is affixed to the ground.
Mason residents will be given a tax credit if a proposed admissions and parking tax is enacted on area amusements, including Kings Island and the Beach Waterpark. City council will consider ordinances that would levy a ticket tax, plus a 5-percent parking tax, at 7 p.m., Monday, Feb. 8, at the Mason Municipal Building. Members of council’s finance committee said Thursday the city will offer an income tax credit of up to $5 for all resident tax returns filed online. The maximum allowable credit for admissions tax paid by an individual taxpayer would be $25. It’s hard to believe that Atlantic Canada’s only indoor amusement park is already 20 years old. "Our very first customers from 20 years ago are now coming back with their kids," says Philippe Theriault, manager of Crystal Palace in Dieppe. That’s the kind of loyalty the park has earned after entertaining children of all ages for more than a generation. That loyalty will be rewarded next weekend when Crystal Palace kicks off a giant birthday party that will continue throughout 2010.
In its first alliance with a theme park, RealD, the world’s largest digital 3D experience provider, and LEGOLAND, California have partnered to present the LEGOLAND 4D presentations Spellbreaker 4D and LEGO Racers 4D, powered by RealD PRO technologyat the theme park’s Show Place Theater. This new partnership harnesses the most advanced digital 3D technology and offers a unique sensory experience for LEGOLAND guests. An exciting new film will launch in early 2009. LEGOLAND 4D presentations combine RealD PRO 3D technology and eye-popping digital 3D effects with environmental elements, such as wind and water, to create an out-of-this-world experience far beyond any 3D film audiences have ever seen. “It is exciting for LEGOLAND California to be working with RealD PRO – the single projector technology is outstanding; it has improved the audience experience and reduced time and expense related to dual projector maintenance,†said Andy Morrison, Entertainment Supervisor for LEGOLAND California Resort.
Word that Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville is closing brought a mixed reaction from Will Koch, president of Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari here. “It’s tough, always sad when another park closes,†Koch said Friday morning. “We know the people (employees) over there.†But he said Holiday World also sees it as an opportunity to draw even more customers from the Louisville area. “We would love to offer our park to their fans and we think we have the capacity,†said Koch. He said while Holiday World’s attendance — just over 1 million annually — has remained fairly flat since 2006, the family-owned park has continued to open new rides and make other improvements and expects corporate picnic business to rebound this year.
It began as a swimming hole in the late 1890’s, and now Beech Bend Park has developed into a family destination complete with rides and a water park. With recent news on the closure of the Six Flags Park in Louisville, we spoke with those at Beech Bend to see what they had to say. Many amusement parks have been hit hard by the economic slump. And Beech Bend says with Kentucky Kingdom closing, they may be one of the only places left to offer thrills in Kentucky.
Universal Orlando has updated its Wizarding World of Harry Potter, upgrading an interactive map and adding new details about experiences. If you ask David O’Brien, Ohio County leaders are trying to force him to sell the 20 acres of land he owns near The Highlands to build the planned Wild Escape theme park. In fact, O’Brien believes county officials have raised his property taxes by increasing the land’s value as part of their alleged efforts to force him to sell the property. Ohio County Assessor Kathie Hoffman originally set O’Brien’s property value at just $4,050 for the 2009 tax year. She now, however, has increased that value more than 200-fold for a total appraised value of $833,450.
While everyone else bemoans the passing of Kentucky Kingdom, I’d like to take a moment to bow my head in memory of a real amusement park of another era – Fontaine Ferry. For a time, we had the aesthetic apex of carny beauty right here in Jefferson County.
Clothes make the Batman. That’s the message behind "Out of This World — Extraordinary Costumes From Film and Television," a traveling exhibit now residing at the Orange County Regional History Center in downtown Orlando. Inside are notorious costumes from a host of classic screen characters, from Capt. Kirk to Robin the Boy Wonder to the Wicked Witch of the West. Costumers help establish characters, whether they’re good or evil, says Jacob McMurray, senior curator at Seattle’s Experience Music Project/Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame, which created "Out of This World."
Following the successful launch of its first, North American theme park in 1999, Merlin entertainment’s LEGOLAND Florida is set to open in early 2011. This will be the fourth “LEGOLAND†park to be built, mirroring the successful Danish, German, UK and Californian versions. Skyscanner Travel Editor, Scot Carlson commented “After the news of Universal Orlando’s new Harry Potter experience hit the wire, we saw dramatic spikes in searches for tickets to Orlando. While investigating this, we saw a huge, unexplained spike in search traffic to the area on January 21st which didn’t seem to fit the trend. When your search traffic triples overnight, it tends to grab your attention. We then decided to look at what else happened in the area, or the news, that could explain the sudden interest.â€
Tri-Citians are one step closer to slipping down water slides on hot summer days. Two local businessmen signed a purchase agreement Friday for eight acres in Kennewick where Shark Reef Water Park is scheduled to open in the summer of 2011. Mike Hillman of Kennewick and Dave Schlotthauer of Pasco secured financial backing for the $5 million first phase of Shark Reef. It will be built in the Southridge area along Highway 395, south of Kadlec’s Kennewick Primary Care and north of the Washington State Patrol office.
Sherry Campana braved gusty winds and snowy roads Saturday morning for a shot at a job at Cedar Point this summer. The 44-year-old Amherst woman was among dozens of people looking for work at the amusement park’s first round of interviews at Breakers Express. Last year, the line of hopeful workers snaked out the door, ashundreds of teens looking for summer work waited alongside unemployed workers seeking something to tide them over until they could find a higher-paying job. This year, perhaps because of Friday night’s snowstorm, the crowd was thinner. Like last year, though, teens mixed with seasoned workers in applying for summer jobs.
A group that wants to build a zip line in the Snake River Canyon near Twin Falls has appealed a decision the city Planning and Zoning Commission made last fall not to endorse the plan. The Magic Valley Flight Simulation LLC says its project was incorrectly classified as an amusement-park ride that needed a special-use permit and an amendment to the development plan. The group on Thursday said it should instead have been classified as a recreational activity that’s allowed in open-space zones.
Walt Disney launched what became the world’s theme park capital in the Seventies when he sited Walt Disney World by the drowsy Florida town of Orlando. Universal and SeaWorld joined in, and between them created a mix of attractions, entertainments, hotels and restaurants so vast you need three holidays to do them justice. Gareth Huw Davies offers his choice of the newest and best attractions in one of the world’s top holiday destinations.
More than 500 people bundled up in jackets Saturday morning to ward off the brisk weather watched families and friends strip down to their bathing suits and jump into the Lagoon Pool at Splash Water Park in Nocatee. "Before you ask, it was cold," said Kevin Wilson, purchasing manager of David Weekley Homes, a home building company with a site in Nocatee. The temperature in the pool was the same as the air temperature — 59 degrees. A new exhibit that lets kids "be one with the monkeys" drew gasps from an audience of corporate officials and wealthy donors on Thursday as the Minnesota Zoo’s director pitched it at the Minneapolis Club. Here is what’s on tap this summer at the state-run zoo, which is seeing record attendance already but remains keen to offer something new each summer to maintain momentum.
There were two news nuggests of interest to Cityscapes readers buried near the bottom of Tribune reporter Kathy Bergen’s Tuesday story about the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority. Both concerned high-profile lakefront projects that the authority, which manages Navy Pier and McCormick Place, have underway: The first, as Bergen reported, is a long-awaited redesign of Navy Pier, aimed at freshening offerings, boosting annual attendance from 9 million to 15 million and generating greater profits to offset the cost of running the McCormick Place. No word on who the architects might be, but let’s hope they do a better job than the Canadian firm that laid an egg with its 2006 theme-park plan for Navy Pier. The second development is short-term lease extension for the Chicago Children’s Museum, a critical anchor for Navy Pier that has been pushing to move to Grant Park. How long will the lease extension be? Does it mean that the museum is stalling for time while it tries to get financial support for its ill-advised plan to build a kiddie bunker in Grant Park?
The Belle Isle Aquarium was packed with people Saturday, and from the outside, it was difficult to tell that the historic building was not actually open for business. Shuttered in 2005, the aquarium has sat vacant except for the goldfish and koi brought in from an outside pond in the cold weather months. But on Saturday, boosters of Belle Isle held the annual Shiver on the River as way to highlight the island and raise awareness of the $1 million it will take to get the aquarium operational again.
With a new library set to open in July, Walnut Creek leaders seem to be eyeing their next 10-year project — city swimming pools. As a final 10-year capital investment list gets hammered out, it appears the major capital expense over the next 10 years is $20 million in renovation and construction costs for the city’s swim facilities. The City Council will vote on the final capital improvement program list in June. Assessments of and recommendations for the city’s two swim facilities, at the Clarke Swim Center in Heather Farm Park and Larkey Swim Pool Center, are under way. Results are expected to be in front of city leaders within a few months. At a community meeting, the assessment showed the 40-year-old facilities are both in need of major upgrades.
A family had to be rescued after a landslide that damaged at least three homes in Maggie Valley in Haywood County Friday evening, officials said. Emergency officials told CBS News affiliate WSPA that about a dozen people were at home when the 100-yard-wide slide struck. Wet weather had made the mountainside unstable. "The rain had been beating on it all day long, so it was just chunks of mud just coming," evacuee Will Herring said. Maggie Valley, with a population of about 600, is situated in the Smoky Mountains and is a tourist destination for hiking, camping, rafting and other outdoor activities. It is also home to the Wild West-themed Ghost Town in the Sky amusement park.
It was supposed to be a mid-winter getaway — a chance for Chad and Lori Granger to splash with family at the Holiday Inn Water Park, in Otsego. "It’s a family reunion," Lori said. "It’s cousins and aunts and uncles and brothers and sisters and all the kids." Lori felt reassured, knowing lifeguards were on duty, though signs warn parents that they’re still responsible for their child’s safety. "Fifteen minutes we were there and then it turned into a complete nightmare from there on out," Chad said. That’s when their 3-year-old daughter Reese slipped out of sight, after they got up to greet other family, leaving a relative watching the pool. About a minute later, Lori spotted Reese’s lifeless body in four feet of water.
Although the Metropolitan Museum of Art saw a rise in visitors last year, New York’s biggest cultural attraction struggled financially, its recently released annual report showed. The Met’s long-term investment portfolio sank by 24% to $2.1 billion in the museum’s fiscal year ended last June. Donations dropped by 46% to $43 million, according to the 2008-09 annual report, which noted that the decline in donations to the Fund for the Met, created in 1994, is “on par with earlier recessionary years†of the campaign. Most museums are experiencing this decrease in gifts because many of their donations come from foundations that have also seen declines in their investment portfolios, said museum analyst Alan Friedman.
As vice president of communications at Terminix, Valerie Sherman is all too aware that the company’s latest marketing venture — "Harry’s Big Adventure: My Bug World!" at The Children’s Museum of Memphis — might at first seem a little bit odd. After all, why would a company that specializes in exterminating those pesky critters sponsor an exhibit that celebrates the joy of insects? Plenty of reasons, Sherman explained. Among them, perspective and promotion. “Urban Glacier†is a large structure that’s part castle, part amusement park. Its main features are a maze, a tower, an enormous slide and a flight of illuminated ice stairs. The place would function as a glistening, temporary art installation and fun gathering space that includes a bar. To build the glacier, BVH would need approximately a half-million square feet of snow and ice. That sounds like an enormous amount. “But we estimated that’s the amount of snow that fell on Qwest Center Omaha’s north parking lot during just one snowstorm,†Nelson said.
Workmen have been putting the finishing touches to a 14-metre serpent, which is due to be the centrepiece of the new Kobra ride at Chessington World of Adventures. Construction began in November and the ride will open to the public on March 27, as part of the new land Wild Asia. The ride consists of a spinning disc that lures visitors to harness the power of the serpent while it spins through the air on a 90m track at 43mph.
The owners of Pleasure Island have said they have a "spooky" feeling that 2010 is going to be a bumper year. Senior park executive Neil Ireland said that with £600,000 being pumped into the park, new season tickets selling like hot-cakes and two new rides in the pipeline, he was confident the park could build on the 10 per cent increase in visitors it saw last year. As reported in December, the Grimsby Telegraph teamed up with Pleasure Island to offer £10 off a £50 season ticket – which allows ticket holders to visit the park as often as they like between April 1 and when the park closes in October.
An investor behind a BD19 million state-of-the-art theme park described as a "miniature Disneyland" in Muharraq has been given until the end of next month to restart work or have the contract terminated. Muharraq Municipal Council members issued the deadline during a closed meeting after receiving directives from His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa. The Muharraq Municipality sought the council’s approval to withdraw the project last June, saying work had still not started – putting it four months behind schedule – and that the GCC investor had changed the agreed designs.
Shanghai will start building roads this year in the Pudong area to service the Disney theme park. Shanghai will begin building and renovating roads around the area in Pudong where a Disney theme park will be located. Huang Rong, director of the Shanghai Construction and Transport Commission, said the construction will start this year, although he gave no specific date.
Oriental Land Co. said Thursday that it will sell its entire stake in the operator of Disney Store retail shops to The Walt Disney Company (Japan) Ltd. on March 31 for an undisclosed sum. Retail Networks Co. will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Walt Disney (Japan), which will take over all 250 or so of its full-time employees. The buyer will single-handedly manage Disney brands in a bid to enhance their value. Disney Store’s 54-location network is expected to be scaled back to 48 stores by the end of March.
Aldar Properties, the largest developer in Abu Dhabi, will link with outside companies on its completed projects to raise cash and outsource some operations functions. The announcement comes during a protracted slowdown for the property sector and is seen by analysts as a way for Aldar to increase its income in a depressed economic climate. “This is not about people just putting money in and getting their name on something,†said Areej al Naqbi, the director of business development at Aldar. “It’s a full partnership programme, including branding, marketing, hospitality and whatever we decide to do with the business venture.â€
Resorts World at Sentosa has been awarded its casino licence. It is the first of Singapore’s two integrated resorts to get the go ahead for its casino operations. Although the opening date of the casino at Resort World has not been announced, preparations are in full swing. Resorts World Sentosa chairman Lim Kok Thay said: "We are very happy to have received the casino licence. This was made possible by the dedicated team, consultants, contractors and government officials, especially the Casino Regulatory Authority, which worked tirelessly to set up the regulatory framework within a very agressive timeline."
More than 500,000 people visited Hull’s museums and art gallery in 2009, the city council has said. The number of people who went to the eight free museums and art gallery last year is the highest since 1994. The council said a drive to create interesting events and attracting the right exhibitions had been a key factor in the increase in visitors.
A proposed "mall of museums" at the Edmonton City Centre Airport could see several historic collections housed in hangars linked by an antique streetcar. Tom Hinderks, executive director of the Alberta Aviation Museum, says he has been working on the scheme for two or three years because many small local museums would benefit from more space or a better location. "The idea is to create a central district where we can bring the museums together," he says.
Iran has cut links with the British Museum over its failure to lend the Islamic Republic an ancient Persian treasure, Iranian media reported on Saturday, in the latest sign of worsening relations between the two countries. Iran’s Cultural Heritage Organisation said in October it had set a two-month deadline for the British Museum to allow the public display in Iran of the so-called Cyrus Cylinder, linked to the Persian ruler’s 6th century BC conquest of Babylon. The museum, which houses a vast collection of world art and artefacts, said in September that plans to hand over the 2,500-year-old clay cylinder had been delayed due to unspecified "practicalities."
Beijing is set to breathe new life into some of its museums this year with expansion and reconstruction projects on the way. And, while existing museums are brought up to date, the capital will also build new ones, including a space dedicated to the 2008 Summer Olympics. Liu Chaoying, director of the museum department within the Beijing Administration of Cultural Heritage (BACH), told METRO the Olympic Museum will be built inside the Bird’s Nest Stadium. Preparation for that project will be completed by the end of the year. Burj Khalifa’s observation deck has been closed to the public until further notice, little more than one month after it opened, due to problems with the power supply. A spokesman for the world’s tallest tower issued a statement explaining the sudden closure this afternoon was to conduct building maintenance and an upgrade, work that was deemed necessary due to the high level of visitors over the last month. “Technical issues with the power supply are being worked on by the main and subcontractors and the public will be informed upon completion,†the spokesperson said. |
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