Kentucky governor asking if Kentucky Kingdom effort is even worth it
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Kentucky Kingdom may be running out of time. Gov. Steve Beshear said Thursday that by the fall the state may give up on using its property at the Kentucky Exposition Center for an amusement park. And less than 24 hours after proposing a $40 million investment to reopen the park in 2014, former park operator Ed Hart said he was rethinking the offer.
Read more from The Courier-Journal.
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I honestly laughed out loud when I read that headline.
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I'm trying to follow the timeline of events, as it's not entirely clear in the article, but I think this is how it breaks down. Correct me if I'm wrong.
1. Ed Hart proposes $40 million dollar plan to resurrect park.
2. Kentucky Governor Beshear states that, “I think it’s time we figure out whether an amusement park is in our future or not here. We’ve tried, we’ve tried. Things just don't seem to come together."
3. Later that day, the Governor directs the fair board to issue a request for formal offers. This is mostly because he doesn't want the state to guarantee $30 million in loans to Hart, and hopes for someone to invest in the property, operate it, and share profits.
4. Noting that the competitive bidding process will delay a possible opening even longer at best, Ed Hart questions whether he wants to bother with the whole process.
It seems "things just don't seem to come together" because the state, meaning the fair board and the Governor, do not want to invest a realistic amount of money for the park and want the new operators to cover most of the bill. My analysis could be way off, of course.
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