Holiday World owners bid to reopen Kentucky Kingdom as Bluegrass Boardwalk

February 7, 2012, 3:32 PM · Here's what just hit my email in-box:

Members of the Koch family in Santa Claus, Indiana, continue to explore re-opening Louisville’s amusement and water park in 2013. Four family members have formed a new company – Bluegrass Boardwalk, Incorporated – to negotiate a lease agreement with the Kentucky State Fair Board, secure financing, and apply for economic development incentives from the Commonwealth of Kentucky. No public monies will be requested from the Kentucky Legislature by Bluegrass Boardwalk, Incorporated.

The members of the Koch family involved in discussions with the Kentucky State Fair Board as Bluegrass Boardwalk, Incorporated are Holiday World president Dan Koch, his sister Natalie Koch, their cousin Kathy Kamp, and her husband, Michael Kamp, who is a General Manager at Holiday World. Dan, Natalie and Kathy are grandchildren of Holiday World’s founder, Louis J. Koch, who opened the park (originally called Santa Claus Land) in 1946.

As updates about Bluegrass Boardwalk are made public, information will be posted online at http://BluegrassBoardwalk.com, on Facebook: http://Facebook.com/BluegrassBoardwalk and via Twitter: @BluegrassBwalk.

Thoughts?

Replies (7)

February 7, 2012 at 3:41 PM · That would be awesome!!!
February 7, 2012 at 3:49 PM · Hate to see a theme park die. Might be cool what they do with it.
February 7, 2012 at 4:24 PM · I agree with the Skipper, I never like to see a park die. Moreover, I trust that the HW folks can rebuild Kentucky Kingdom into a good, safe park despite years and years of misuse by previous owners. Good luck!
February 7, 2012 at 5:30 PM · To me it all depends on the cooperation that they will receive from the Fair Board. From what I've read, it seems they might be part of the problem. I have little doubt that this park would flourish under Holiday World management, but if the fair board is meddling and making it hard to make money, a deal won't happen. They didn't want to work with Ed Hart, the guy who pretty much built the place and made it a big success before selling to Six Flags. Instead they strung out negotiations for over a year before showing him the door. He's now suing for over a million bucks in expenses incurred while trying to get the lease.

I spent the summer of '09 working in Louisville. At the time, Six Flags was still operating the park, but it seemed that the place just wasn't open a whole lot. It stands to reason that a seasonal amusement park would maximize it's hours during the summer months, but with KK it just wasn't the case. The park would open in the afternoon (not morning) and close early. When the state fair came to town for a few weeks in August, the place was completely closed. Not that Six Flags was a shining example in the business at the time, but it's pretty hard to turn a profit for anyone when a quarter of your season is lost because the fair is in town. If there were other regulations (operating hours, parking...etc) or a ton of money going to the fair board, making money there might have been a pretty tall order.

Of course I don't know all the details of their deal with Six Flags, but I'd be very interested to see them. It might offer a little insight as to why things went so bad there. Louisville is a great city and an amusement park once flourished there. I'm pretty sure that on a local scale, one could flourish again as long as it's done right. If the fair board's demands are too much though, it won't be a money maker. If it's not a money maker it simply won't open.

In the case of Holiday World, the question is one of financial viability. They have a fantastic reputation, and they already split the Louisville market with Kings Island. In short they have all the cards. That said, how much will their business really expand if they reopen Kentucky Kingdom? Would it really be beneficial to their brand or bottom line if it was only a modest financial success? If they can't run the place like they want to, and/or the profit is minimal, it might not be worth it to them. Holiday World's business model makes them a perfect candidate to make the park a success again. If I were the fair board, I would make it worth their while to come in and do their thing.

February 8, 2012 at 7:19 AM · I thought KK was an OK park on my '07 visit. Wasn't terribly impressed with the dry side, but enjoyed the waterpark. I, like others, hate to see a park die, so I hope the Koch group can pull this off.

On a related note, I really like the Bluegrass Boardwalk name and logo, if it sticks.

February 8, 2012 at 8:33 AM · This is great news for those of us who live in Louisville. Holiday World's reputation preceeds them. Mostly, I worry about the Koch family because the Fair Board has proven time and time again that they are greedy, have a very narrow vision and are EXTREMELY hard to work with. All of the things that make Holiday World feel like family to customers will likley have to go out the window. Free parking. HA! That's the sweetest plum for the Fair Board! The Fair Board also made Kentucky KIngdom close for most of August to accomodate the Fair, or in worse cases, they let them keep their gates open but made them charge for individual rides to profit the Fair, essentailly making them part of the Midway. And Season Pass Holders weren't part of the Midway.

Holiday World will have a long way to go towards getting the park back in operational shape and will need to add quite a few unique rides in order to garner interest from both locals and visitors. It's going to cost a pretty penny, and that's why I worry about the Koch family. They've done extremely well in Indiana, but something like this will costs many, many millions of dollars and could bankrupt any company who attempts to make it work while dealing with the Fair Board.

February 8, 2012 at 9:42 AM · This is awesome news! I live in St. Louis, so having another park fairly close in Kentucky would be great. I'm also excited to see what the Koch family could do with this area.

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