The Interpreter Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 That would depend on who your bosses were and what their goal is. Make no mistake about it, there are those who think an amusement or waterpark is not the highest and best use of that property. Also, the Kochs say they have not yet been allowed to closely inspect the rides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkroz Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 Which should say enough. "Each of these three curtains has a fully-furnished home behind it. Choose curtain one, two, or three, pay up, and then we'll lift the curtain and reveal which house you chose!" They would literally have them not see what they're buying into until they've already signed their assets away. How does that sound like a fair idea? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 Bluegrass Boardwalk is not legally Holiday World or the Kochs. It is a separate legal entity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkroz Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 So Holiday World might not be an asset, but signing on the dotted line must carry some weight of consequence or else it would be a formality and would already have happened... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 The due diligence phase for both parties is currently underway. This is nowhere near a done deal. It may happen. It may not. Even if it happens, the park may open. It may not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KIfan1980 Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 Based upon recent history, it looks to me like starting a park from scratch is not economically feasible in today's world. Taking over an existing idle park like KK may be one of the last opportunities to enter a new market. Unfortunately, it seems like even that may be a mon starter based upon the current state of the park. One wonders what the end game for the State Fair Board is at this point - I've asked before about whether in hindsight they wish they'd renegotiated the lease with Six Flags during the bankruptcy. I also wonder what the current backup plan is for them? If the BB group (that the fair board apparently pursues after the hart deal fell apart) walks, what options remain for the group that is losing money year on year and sitting on an unused asset? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joncars05 Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 I was wondering how long it would take for a negative spin on why a HW event did not mention another park. Answer- just under 24 hours What are you talking about? The man that spoke at the event was Dan Koch. The main person trying to open BB. It is fair to expect/believe that a man that owns HW and trying so hard to open BB again would mention something about BB. Especially if he is so excited (atleast in interviews) to open the park. I think his silence on the matter is a telling sign about how the negotiations are going (especially in front of coaster enthusiasts that actually would like to see KK/BB open up again). Here is a question. If they had a lease signed and were going to open the park in May 2013 like they believed they were going to... Would he have mentioned it during HoliWood Nights? I think so... p.s. It only took me two months to break my rule of not responding to you. Enjoy it... I'm gonna try for a bit longer next time... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Browntggrr Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 p.s. It only took me two months to break my rule of not responding to you. Enjoy it... I'm gonna try for a bit longer next time... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5ZeNZtvACI That said..... moving on..... If BB was mentioned during another park event, it could be spun that just mentioning it was an attempt to sell more people that it would happen. Given that a statement on the progress, or lack thereof, was just released less than a week ago, it was clear where everything stands. There is currently no lease, thus a transaction has not been made. Expecting a statment about another park, during a different park event, is simply grasping at straws. It should also be noted that the press release was not through the HW website (though issued by Paula), thus reinforcing the desire to keep both parks seperate as of now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sccard01 Posted June 6, 2012 Author Share Posted June 6, 2012 If BB Fails, It will cost tax payers $70,000,000.00 according to Hart. http://insiderlouisville.com/news/2012/05/31/kentucky-kingdom-creator-ed-hart-if-bluegrass-boardwalk-fails-it-will-cost-taxpayers-70-million/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Browntggrr Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 Mr. Hart is certainly an intresting individual. I applaud his bluntness, but question his motives. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KIfan1980 Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 I love some of his claims, like: - he came up with $29 million of financing to reopen and the state came up with nothing; although he clearly notes that $23 million of that was secured by state owned land (which he includes in the losses by the state if BB fails). You can't have it both ways! - state issued bonds would return $10 million per year on a $2 million investment. Really - id love to see the math/investment prospective on that because that almost seems to good to be true. Oh wait, in that case it probably is. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joncars05 Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 If BB Fails, It will cost tax payers $70,000,000.00 according to Hart. http://insiderlouisv...ers-70-million/ I wanted to post this on the article but I couldn't so I'll post it here: Debate it and tell me what you think? Ed if you were so "passionate" about your park You should have never sold it to six flags... But I guess every man has a offer they can't refuse. You can't sell the park for a ton of money then be sad when it gets run down by the new owners... If you wanted to have KK around you should have never sold the park. You could have had KK and been making a profit. But I believe you knew it was bad dealing with the fair board so you sold the park to the highest bidder (Premier Parks) and laughed as you knew they would run into problems with the fair board just a few years later when the lease renewal came up. So you are a master business man. You sold a park that was going to end when the lease was up because you knew it was going to be hard to renew the lease. So since you don't own the park now Six Flags has the blood on their hands because the park closed down on their watch. While you get off scot-free while counting the $64 million you made on the deal... Absolute genius... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 On maintenance: * Mr. Workman, no longer Fair Board Chairman, dances around. * The Kochs will no longer comment about the park's maintenance. http://www.indystar.com/article/B2/20120610/NEWS01/306100062/Old-Kentucky-Kingdom-theme-park-maintenance-falls-short?odyssey=nav%7Chead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 Fair board to lose management of KFC YUM Center: http://m.bizjournals.com/louisville/#/leadins/view/page_8621662 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWBeast1039 Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 It sounds like the Fair Board is a pain to work with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 State Panel Approves Incentives Worth Up Tp $3.9 Million To Open Bluegrass Boardwalk: http://m.therepublic.com/view/story/38d5a89d193440d8ad8c315ff8e87309/KY--Kentucky-Kingdom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Browntggrr Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 More info: http://www.bizjournals.com/louisville/news/2012/06/13/bluegrass-boardwalk-approved-for.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DegenRider Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 and its dead! http://bluegrassboardwalk.com/bluegrass-boardwalk-withdraws-from-project-3/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdawg1998 Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 DegenRider beat me to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joncars05 Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 I tried to tell you people... Randy Travis will explain it for me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DegenRider Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 Sad but not unexpected. Once you kicked the tires a bit more they had to realize this was bad idea and to get out before the sank them. KK was a craphole when it was open. I didn't have any expectation it was maintained afterwords Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 And it's not even August 16 yet. This is a good day for Holiday World, though. The future of that park now looks much, much brighter than it did yesterday. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdawg1998 Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 And it's not even August 16 yet. This is a good day for Holiday World, though. The future of that park now looks much, much brighter than it did yesterday. I am kind of happy about this, actually. While it would be really cool for a new park, I think they can focus on Holiday World still without having to worry about a second park. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 http://m.wdrb.com/default.aspx?pid=2705&wnfeedurl=http%3a%2f%2fwww.wdrb.com%2fstory%2f18801460%2fbluegrass-boardwalk-withdraws-from-project-to-reopen-the-former-kentucky-kingdom%3fclienttype%3drssstory http://m.bizjournals.com/louisville/#/leadins/view/page_8671912 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 Fair Board Reaction: http://www.whas11.com/community/blogs/news-blog/Bluegrass-Boardwalk-withdraws-from-project-159238625.html (interpretation: Back to the drawing board). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 Fair Board Chairman: "I don't think there's a backup plan." Other uses may be considered: http://www.indystar.com/article/20120615/BUSINESS/120615052/Holiday-World-group-drops-plans-reopen-Kentucky-Kingdom?odyssey=nav%7Chead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McSalsa Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 Well, ouch. I'm seriously doubting this park's chances of re-opening now, but at least the Koch Family, when they realized how bad this really was, got out- so Holiday World is safe. But, will anyone else rise up to possibly "take" this challenge? I doubt it. So much for another amusement park choice within a reasonable distance from central Indy for me to visit... Alas, this means the Koch family can instead focus on improving Holiday World, and with the money that they would have put into KK, possibly making a large addition to their current park. That new steel coaster could well be on its way now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 Reactions: http://www.whas11.com/news/local/Bluegrass-Boardwalk-plans-fall-through-residents-disappointed-159272555.html Includes a nearly five minute news story. There will be a press op in Santa Claus today. Timing? Both my sources and intuition tell me this is no coincidence this decision was announced two days after state tax incentives were approved. A detailed economic study was required as a part of the approval process. Both the state and the Kochs got the results of that study. Apparently, though sufficient to support approval of the incentives, the study did not make a convincing case for the future economic prosperity of the park on leased land from the Kochs' standpoint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 Ed Hart won't comment on whether he's interested in the park again. More interestingly, note the comments: http://www.whas11.com/community/blogs/news-blog/Bluegrass-Boardwalk-withdraws-from-project-159238625.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldiesmann Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 I love how the city councilman tries to turn the focus away from government red tape. Of course it had nothing to do with what the city and state were offering. It just "didn't fit the business model" that the Kochs wanted to operate under... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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