LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - Bluegrass Boardwalk Inc. has withdrawn from the project to reopen the old Kentucky Kingdom amusement park.
According to a press release, Bluegrass Boardwalk CEO Natalie Koch said the Koch family was prepared financially to reopen the abandoned park, but the layers of governmental regulations and stipulations ultimately caused them to withdraw. In a recent interview with WAVE 3, she said they were willing to wait.
"We're willing to wait. We are willing to wait until all parties can agree and until all parties are satisfied this is the right thing for Kentucky for Louisville for Bluegrass Boardwalk," Koch said in a previous interview.
A letter was delivered to the Kentucky State Fair Friday terminating the proposed lease agreement. People WAVE 3 spoke to were not shy about their thoughts after learning the abandoned theme park would not become the Bluegrass Boardwalk.
"I'm actually really mad," said Ryan Jones of Floyds Knobs, Indiana. "Because it's all of my memories. Even whenever it closed down for the first time, I thought they said it was coming back. So, I don't know. I'm really mad."
Dylan Gibson, of Lexington, Kentucky said "Kentucky Kingdom was a pretty cool park. I was really upset when it shut down. I was pretty excited when I heard that it was going to be revamped. I guess now my hopes have just been dashed."
David Tandy is the 4th district councilman for the City of Louisville. He is also Chairman of the Louisville Economic Development committee. "It certainly is disappointing that the board decided not to invest in the boardwalk and to go forward with the deal that we put forth on the table," said Tandy. "It came as a shock to us because just this morning."
Tandy said he spoke to Natalie Koch and Michael Camp of Holiday World Friday morning who gave no indication of a project withdrawal.
"No. I think it actually took them by surprise as well. Our conversations were very positive and very upbeat as far as what the future holds for the park," Tandy said.
As for what's next for the city, Tandy said "I think the next steps for us will be to continue to promote the site to other amusement park operators. And to seek to structure a deal that works well for everybody."
"I want it to reopen as something," Jones said.
The Kentucky State Fair Board released a statement saying, "We are disappointed with the announcement today from the Koch family about Bluegrass Boardwalk. The Fair Board remains committed to finding options for the amusement park and will assess the situation over the next few weeks."
Copyright 2012 WAVE News. All rights reserved.
