Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Festival Tennessee Theme Park In Spring Hill
Nashville Business Journal
Spring Hill officials announced plans today by a private developer to build a theme park called Festival Tennessee off Interstate 65 just south of Nashville.
While final details are being worked out, the developer — Henderson, N.V.-based Big International Group of Entertainment Inc. — said the project could cost upward of $750 million in private investment. The developers are not asking city or state officials for any tax incentives.
The theme park, described as a mini-Disney by developers, will be designed by ITEC Entertainment Corp. out of Orlando.
If the development goes as planned, officials said the park could open by Thanksgiving 2012. Officials said the park could provide up to 1,000 jobs for the region and tens of millions in tax dollars to local coffers each year.
It would be the first theme park in Tennessee to break ground since the closure of Opryland’s popular attraction in 1997 – a move that led to a 19 percent drop in tourism revenue for Nashville the following year.
The timing is challenging, given the global decrease in theme park attendance that happened amid the recession. In 2009, visitation to Orlando theme parks was down 9 percent, according to a report by California-based AECOM.
Of the top 20 amusement and theme parks in the United States, only seven saw jumps in visitation in 2009, while others experienced double-digit declines. Most of the spikes came from Disney-owned properties.
That same report also lists the top theme park chains, which include a handful of North American companies in addition to Disney: Merlin Entertainment Group, Six Flags and Universal.
A soft opening is scheduled for Thanksgiving 2012, which will include a Thanksgiving meal for the needy in Williamson, Rutherford and Maury counties.
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