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ITPS Amusement INdustry News
February 29, 2008
No where else can you find more news covering the amusement and leisure industry! When news hits, you can be certain that will deliver it to you.
ITPS has proudly served the leisure industry since 1983. Visit http://www.interthemepark.com for more information.
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Amusement/Theme Park News
SeaWorld makes huge splash in Dubai Shamu is getting not only another theme park, he's getting his own island, as SeaWorld's owner announced plans Thursday to expand overseas for the first time with a four-park complex in the Middle Eastern boomtown of Dubai. Busch Entertainment Corp. said a corporate partner will develop a SeaWorld theme park, a Busch Gardens theme park, a Discovery Cove day resort and an Aquatica water park in the United Arab Emirates city, which is rapidly emerging as one of Orlando's biggest rivals on the worldwide tourism stage.
Q&A MARK SHAPIRO, SIX FLAGS CEO Six Flags has a strategy for season opening Chief Executive Mark Shapiro spoke with the Star-Telegram on Thursday about what's new at the park, the status of Six Flags Over Texas' liquor-license application and how a recession might affect the company.
Amusing tax breaks One of the more amusing news-watching exercises has centered on Ocean City, where the owner of Jolly Roger Amusement Park is seeking tax breaks similar to those being contemplated for Trimper Rides on the Boardwalk.
WHEATFIELD: Oz theme park still in the works WHEATFIELD — The folks at Oz Central have kept a pretty low profile since announcing plans several years ago to develop an 800-acre theme park in Wheatfield. It appears it’ll remain that way until there’s a major announcement. Town officials say things are progressing while Oz Central, the group that owns the rights to the estate of the L. Frank Baum Family Trust, continues with the environmental impact statement, a massive document that will detail any potentially adverse effects the park will have on the surrounding neighborhood.
Music theme park could aid Arizona coffers Rock 'n' roll could help fix the state's budget deficit. Decades Music Theme Park, a proposed musical theme park between the East Valley and Tucson in Eloy, could greatly assist the state economically, according to a new economic study. The Elliot D. Pollack study concludes that if the park does as well as promoters forecast, the state could receive $270 million in gross tax revenue over a 10-year period.
Storms wash out water park crowds while dry sites shine VILLAGE Roadshow has blamed cyclonic weather for a drop in attendance at its Sea World and Wet'n'Wild themeparks, but said visitor numbers remained strong at Movie World and Outback Spectacular. The entertainment company, which owns the four attractions, yesterday said its theme park contribution to its half-year profit result -- which overall had increased by 55 per cent to $45.3 million -- had dropped by $2.7 million on the same period the previous year.
Eagles, Moody Blues to play Hard Rock Park Theme park will also sponsor celebrity golf tourney The Eagles and The Moody Blues will perform in June at a two-day celebration of the opening of Hard Rock Park, and the park will sponsor a celebrity golf tournament featuring LPGA star Paula Creamer, The Moody Blues musicians and other golf pros, the park announced today.
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts signs Premier Partnership with PATA Global family entertainment leader Walt Disney Parks and Resorts and the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) have forged a new strategic partnership, both organisations announced last week. Effective immediately, Disney becomes a PATA Premier Partner, gaining exclusive access to a range of co-operative opportunities including market intelligence, business development and co-branded events and products.
Waterpark News
KeyLime Cove by the numbers Nothing small about Lake County's newest, largest resort hotel It's hard to miss, sitting as it does along the Tri-State Tollway like a giant yellow submarine, but the $135.7 million KeyLime Cove Water Park Resort -- opening today after some 15 months of construction along Dilleys Road -- still has to be explored within to reveal some of its facts and figures, such as:
Great Wolf Resorts to Present March 3 at Raymond James Investor Conference Great Wolf Resorts, Inc. , North America's leading family of indoor waterpark resorts, today announced that John Emery, chief executive officer, will be a featured speaker at the Raymond James 29th Annual Institutional Investor Conference, which takes place March 2-5 in Orlando, Florida at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress Hotel. Emery is scheduled to present at 9:50 a.m. Eastern Time (ET) on Monday, March 3, 2008.
Aquarium/Zoo News
U.S. Zoos And Aquariums Leap To Defense Of Imperiled Frogs From Tampa to Tasmania, more and more frog species are joining the lists of threatened and endangered animals. Rocked by a great amphibian pandemic, frogs are disappearing in alarming numbers, say biologists who fear the worst: an ongoing wave of extinctions.
'Toadily Frogs' Exhibit Opens at Caldwell Zoo Submitted A red-eyed tree frog is among the new species at the Caldwell Zoo.Fourteen new species of frogs and toads are being added to the Caldwell Zoo family today. Located within the zoo's North America Reptile Building, a new wall of jewel cases will highlight some very unique frog species from around the world — a frog that looks like a leaf, poison dart frogs, and red-eyed tree frogs -- in the new "Toadily Frogs" exhibit.
Louisville Zoo reports cause of death of adult siamangs Officials: Not type that affects people Two adult siamangs that died at the Louisville Zoo last year were killed by E. coli bacteria, zoo officials said yesterday.
Akron Zoo jellyfish exhibit to be one of a kind in Ohio The Akron Zoo will unveil a jellyfish exhibit this summer that will feature 10 aquariums and will be the only exhibit of its kind in Ohio. The exhibit is scheduled to open June 7 in Komodo Kingdom, the zoo's education center. The area was designed to be a space in which a new exhibit would be constructed every few years. It currently is under construction with several tanks already in place. Zoo employees are working to make the area suitable for jellyfish before they are released into the tanks. The zoo has partnered with YouthBuild, a program of Akron Summit Community Action Inc., to assist with construction of the area. The Akron Zoo will unveil a jellyfish exhibit this summer that will feature 10 aquariums and will be the only exhibit of its kind in Ohio. The exhibit is scheduled to open June 7 in Komodo Kingdom, the zoo's education center. ---end story---
GEICO Gecko Tour of Zoos and Aquariums to Visit Houston Zoo March 1- April 30 Live Gecko Exhibit to Highlight Wildlife Conservation HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--GEICO and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) make their next tour stop March 1- April 30 at the Houston Zoo as part of a nationwide conservation campaign featuring a live gecko exhibit, the GEICO Gecko and a series of animated television commercials.
FEC/LBE/Museum News
Vienna turns Ferris wheel into giant Euro promo Vienna - Football promotion hardly gets any bigger. Exactly 100 days before the kick-off of the Euro 2008 football championships, Vienna covered its Riesenrad, a giant Ferris wheel, in a 2,000-square-metre net sporting tournament logos. Organizers said they hoped to raise the anticipation of the event by branding the 65-metre wheel, one of the Austrian capital's most famous sights.
Other News
Are HRA taxes on the decline? Drop in revenue from hotel, restaurant and amusement tax doesn't indicate downward trend, officials say PEORIA - A tax on hotel rooms, movie theater tickets and value meals at McDonald's suffered a 12 percent drop in December 2007 compared with December 2006.
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Contact:
Shawn M. Haas
Vice President of Retail, Operations and Information Technology
International Theme Park Services, Inc
2195 Victory Parkway
Cincinnati, OH 45206
513-381-6131 Phone
513-381-2756 Fax
http://www.interthemepark.com
shawnhaas@interthemepark.com
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ITPS Services
ITPS provides a full spectrum of services to all types of attractions no matter the size, small to large.
Below are some of the services that ITPS' experienced team of experts can provide:
- Acquisitions / Mergers / Property Valuation / Due Diligence
- Feasibility Analysis
- Facility Audits
- Concept/Design / Masterplanning
- Business Plans
- Planning/Development
- Project Management / Construction
- Financial Development
- Maintenance Programs
- Executive Search
- Marketing / Group Sales / Sponsorship
- Executive/Employee Training / Manual Development
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- Entertainment Programs
- Long-Range Planning
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Operational Planning
Attractions Development - Ride Bid/Negotiation / Ride Procurement
- General Management
Call 513-381-6131 for more information on how ITPS can assist your facility!
25 Years...
Through the good, the bad and the ugly, International Theme Park Services, Inc. (“ITPS”) continues to provide the industry with its skilled services internationally.
ITPS celebrates its 25th year in 2008 and has served over 450 projects in over 40 countries! Considered a leader in the industry by the many companies who have used ITPS’ services, ITPS is still growing and offering its knowledge and experience to every continent. Dennis Speigel, President of ITPS, is a past president of the IAAPA and remains active on their Board of Directors. He is called upon by people throughout the industry to advise and recommend on projects. A leader today and for the future, ITPS is there when you need assistance.
Feasibility, design, pre-opening planning, business audits, on-site training and management…ITPS is still leading the industry into the future.
Leisure Capital Resources
International Theme Park Services provides merger, acquisition, financial, and strategic advisory services to public and private entertainment companies that wish to acquire or sell a business, raise equity capital, raise or restructure debt, or sell real estate.
Contact: Dennis Speigel at 513-381-6131 or Howard Kahn at affiliated Leisure Capital Resources in New York at 516-621-5183.