BREAKING NEWS: Paramount Parks to manage Bonfante Gardens

Posted | Contributed by Jeff

According to a press release issued this morning by Paramount Parks, the theme park owner and operator will manage Bonfante Gardens for a period of five years. Paramount Parks will oversee complete management of Bonfante Gardens and will provide strategic guidance to Bonfante Gardens on financial decisions and long-range planning.

Here's the press release:

Santa Clara, Calif. (February 4, 2003) – Bonfante Gardens’ board of directors in Gilroy, Calif. and Paramount Parks, headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., have entered into a five-year agreement wherein Paramount Parks will assume management of Bonfante Gardens. Paramount Parks is the parent company of Paramount’s Great America, located in Santa Clara, Calif.

Bonfante Gardens’ board of directors approved the contract, which states that Paramount Parks will oversee complete management of Bonfante Gardens and will provide strategic guidance to Bonfante Gardens on financial decisions and long-range planning.

“We were looking for the best in the business and Paramount Parks was clearly the right choice,” said Bob Kraemer, chairman of the board for Bonfante Gardens. “We are delighted that our management contract with Paramount Parks will allow us to be true to our mission of entertaining young families and garden lovers and educating them about horticulture and its contribution to our community.”

Al Weber, president/CEO of Paramount Parks, concurred, stating, “Bonfante Gardens is highly respected as a beautiful property and we are pleased to have the opportunity to nurture and grow the vision of Michael Bonfante and the city of Gilroy. We are proud they have chosen us to manage the park.”

As the two teams begin to converge and develop plans, both parks are excited about the synergistic opportunities that exist. The agreement enables many opportunities for Bonfante Gardens to work with Paramount’s Great America to drive tourism in the South Bay and to better serve the community.

As part of Viacom, one of the leading entertainment companies in the world, Paramount Parks is consistently identifying new opportunities to expand the entertainment choices the company can offer its customers. The association of Paramount Parks and Bonfante Gardens creates an inviting combination of entrepreneurship and experience that will generate benefits for Bonfante Gardens and better family entertainment value for Bay Area families.

“We know how important Bonfante Gardens has become to many families in the South Bay community, and through our management agreement with Bonfante Gardens, we plan to maintain the beauty of the park consistent with Michael Bonfante’s vision,” said Tim Fisher, EVP and general manager of Paramount’s Great America.

Bonfante Gardens is a unique park where young families enjoy a day of fun together in an incredibly beautiful environment. With spectacular waterfalls, rides for children, stages of entertainment and excellent restaurants, young families experience a day of fun and are delighted by the beauty of their surroundings. The park’s focus is the family, education on the benefits of trees, and horticulture and its contribution to the world.