Family buys more than 100 acres in Broken Arrow for upcoming 'amazing venture'

[shavethewhales]

I think the partner's hand will be forced before long. I agree that most entities with this kind of money to throw around would choose better management, and that may still be the case. I think Robby Bell is on thin ice and like I've been saying he should have taken better steps all along.

I do think they have solid financial backing though. I have been told through the grapevine that their partner is someone who operates various other properties, but is not a major business entity. Think smaller attractions. They supposedly found the needle in the haystack of partners to work with that has just enough money to make it work without being so large that they are tied up in other things or would pass over the Bell family for obvious reasons. Still, Robby has his work cut out to keep them on the line if things don't start moving soon in a positive direction. I'm sure it takes time to work out the details with the city and plans, but a simple statement would go a long way. Like we've been saying, they could hire a PR firm to do it for them since they are obviously incapable.

I assume they are still negotiating traffic concerns. That is probably their biggest issue and will take awhile to sort out, but we should see something happen by spring. I'm sure the city is pushing things along on their end since they are feeling the heat at both ends. They want to calm citizen concerns and they've also kind of stamped their name on this project after that presser. They need this to move out of the shadows ASAP.

People have told me they've already seen Robby out there cleaning up the property, lol. He always was a work horse - for simple projects at least.

[shavethewhales]

Update: https://basentinel.town.news/g/broken-arrow-ok/n/65448/market-study-likely-bells-property-amusement-park-not-guaranteed

The owner's of Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is the entity behind all this. They are an awesome group that should know what they are doing. It sounds like they are taking control of the project out of Robby's hands since he has communicated so poorly and gotten all the neighbors mad.

Wouldn't surprise me if they build a large outdoor mall/retail center with a small space for a family amusement park. A shadow of what Bell's was and could be, but at least it would be something. I just want Zingo back. A proper water park would be nice too, but selfishly I won't be too mad if that gets axed because I want to try my hand at building one myself in a few years... 

[dbacksfan 2.0]

This is a good sign. I've been to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk and it's the best of that size places that I have visited. Clean and well run, unlike the one at Mission Beach in San Diego.

I just don't have any real faith in Robby Bell.

[tulsabug]

I'm shocked that everything we predicted in this thread is coming to fruition. No wait - I'm not shocked at all.

[shavethewhales]

I'm shocked that everything we predicted in this thread is coming to fruition. No wait - I'm not shocked at all.

Well, to be fair, now that we know the identity of the actual developer it seems much more likely that something great will indeed be developed here and there's a very good chance that some sort of amusements will be involved. Will it truly be Bell's? That's the biggest question. Not sure Robby Bell will get what he wants or anything like he announced last year. I am sure as the project moves forward it is becoming clear that he doesn't bring a lot to the table other than his family name and legacy.

These Santa Cruz guys seem pretty good though. I'm excited to see what they actually decide to do here. Hopefully they do indeed include a Zingo-sized roller coaster somewhere. Our own version of the Santa Cruz boardwalk, or Kemah Boardwalk down in south Houston.

[tulsabug]

Well, to be fair, now that we know the identity of the actual developer it seems much more likely that something great will indeed be developed here and there's a very good chance that some sort of amusements will be involved. Will it truly be Bell's? That's the biggest question. Not sure Robby Bell will get what he wants or anything like he announced last year. I am sure as the project moves forward it is becoming clear that he doesn't bring a lot to the table other than his family name and legacy.

These Santa Cruz guys seem pretty good though. I'm excited to see what they actually decide to do here. Hopefully they do indeed include a Zingo-sized roller coaster somewhere. Our own version of the Santa Cruz boardwalk, or Kemah Boardwalk down in south Houston.

True. One of the thread predictions has been the actual money will step forward to protect it's interests and now that's happening. I would think their best bet is buying the Bell's name and maybe the Zingo and starting fresh from there. Or do nothing and just use the tax shelter.

[dbacksfan 2.0]

From reading the article on SnoozeOn6, it sounds like Santa Cruz told Robby to sit down and be quiet while the adults take care of business. Seems that Santa Cruz is doing things the right way to try and develop a proper plan and working with they city to try and keep everyone happy.

As much as everyone, including myself, have fond memories of Bell's, I think most are wise enough to remember the down hill slide it went through.

[Dspike]

As foretold by the prophets . . . Bells is not going to be built in South BA.

https://www.fox23.com/news/bells-amusement-park-not-reopening-in-south-ba-city-manager-says/article_a259da3e-eebc-11ed-af86-17e85569fc1c.html

[shavethewhales]

Yup, Robby/the Bell family screwed it up again. This time they literally had it all in their hands and they still managed to fumble on the 1 yard line. No excuses for them any more. This was their last real shot and they blew it.

I mean, the Santa Cruz people were a legit outfit to work with. The site was fine despite a few neighbors that are going to complain about anything being built there (won't they be surprised when it inevitably gets turned into a Costco or something and the traffic REALLY picks up). There were challenges to deal with for sure, but this was their only real chance. I knew it looked bad when Robby screwed up that press event and way overpromised everything with no real plan, but I figured the Santa Cruz people would still push something out with or without him.

With interest rates rising and other macro economic issues making large investments more difficult, who knows if Tulsa will ever see a real amusement park again. It's always been a difficult business to get into, and you have to have a ton of capital to work with and a nimble business plan to navigate the ups and downs of the market. I still think Tulsa is entertainment starved however, and we need a real park. The former Big Splash is getting some nice investment to rehabilitate it, but it still has the same old slides and pools and is much too small.

[dbacksfan 2.0]

As foretold by the prophets . . . Bells is not going to be built in South BA.

https://www.fox23.com/news/bells-amusement-park-not-reopening-in-south-ba-city-manager-says/article_a259da3e-eebc-11ed-af86-17e85569fc1c.html

Prophets? No, I prefer to think jaded, jaundiced, skeptical, cynical, doubter or realist.

Sad to see this fall apart, but I think anyone that tries to attach the Bell family to a project are going to have their hands full.

I also think even if the market was better, amusement parks are kind of a tough sell these days unless you are upgrading and existing one.

Frontier City, love it or hate it has an interesting history and was almost dismantled in the early 80's. From Wiki their oldest ride was built in 1986.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frontier_City

[tulsabug]

It was never going to happen - it was always just a 1031 Exchange tax dodge. Made for some good forum fodder but nothing else.

[buffalodan]

I've heard rumblings about a new amusement park / resort up near grand lake and a lot of potential options around Dallas. Though I think they are something more akin to Okana than Frontier City.

[Red Arrow]

Around 100 years ago trolley parks were built by trolley companies to generate weekend riders on the trolley.  Many evolved into amusement parks.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trolley_park