TheRapidsNerd Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 ^They would Astroworld it. If they do buy the park, then it's most likely gonna go. Was wondering if anybody else saw shades of the Astroworld situation here. That's still an undeveloped field that was supposed to be more parking for the new stadium next to the Astrodome (as of a PTR in the last couple months or so). "That big parking lot used to be Great America. That mall was Oprlyand once. The field was Astro World. Those condos? Oh that was Myrtle Beach Pavilion. Isn't it great that the housing development kept the old Elitch Gardens Carousel building?" - I hate "progress". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebl Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 "...they would take up all the space for future coasters!!!" (sfmmrules!) Something tells me that the 49ers don't care about roller coasters. But I could be wrong... It's always tough to lose an amusement park, even a mediocre one like Great America. I haven't been in eight years and don't feel like I've missed anything, but to see it lose out to a sports franchise just makes me mad. Needless to say, sports is not anywhere near high on my list. Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swoosh Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 Call dibs (WOF) on Vortex, Drop Zone, Delirium and the Skooters. Valleyfair can have TopGun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chmilo24 Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 And For All Those 49er Fans- NEW FOR 2009: FRANK GORE: THE RIDE!!! A new 421ft Intamin StrataCoaster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamminJ Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 The Alex Smith Experience, where riders are attacked by five, 300 pound linemen, you narrowly avoid the sack and make a pass, but the ball goes through the hands of one of your terrible receivers. The ride ends when you are put on the IR and are out 4-6 weeks.. the ride is temporarily closed for a re-theme to The Trent Dilfer Experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kraxleRIDAH Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 If we get a "Pave America" result out of this, then who will SFDK have to compete with? You make it sound like Six Flags having no competition in NorCal is a bad thing. If anything, a paved over Great America would see a spike in attendance at Discovery Kingdom. What used to be a choice between two major theme park players in one market leaves everyone in that area seeking a day of theme park fun with only Six Flags as an option. ok..so im really confused. WHO exactly owns the park? the city? or Cedar Fair? The city of Santa Clara owns the park and the land it sits on. Cedar Fair operates the park under a lease with terms and conditions. The lease ends after the year 2039. Because of the contract Cedar Fair entered by acquiring Great America, they have a right to make the decision as to what they decide to do with the park. If Cedar Fair chooses to do so, they can sell the remainder of the lease and all the interest. However, Cedar Fair AND the city of Santa Clara must come to an agreement when it comes to unloading the park for other purposes besides operating it as an amusement park. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tmcdllr Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 This is so bad in so many ways and how anti-family of the 49ers. Thats ok cause the park is not going anywhere and the 49ers will be s.o.l. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carolinacaniac Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 If Great America gets closed for a football stadium, then I would cheer twice as hard for the Seahawks when they play them. At least when Seattle got a new stadium, they used the space that the Kingdome sat on, so nothing was really lossed other than an obsolete stadium. Why couldn't the 49ers do the same and just demolish the one they are in? From what I understand, the 49ers are the only thing going on there now anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjeerr Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 Did SF (San Francisco) ever pass that law that said something like "you must be in the city to carry the name"? Because you wouldn't really want to be the Santa Clara 49ers... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montezooma Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 The city of Santa Clara owns the park and the land it sits on. Cedar Fair operates the park under a lease with terms and conditions. The lease ends after the year 2039. Because of the contract Cedar Fair entered by acquiring Great America, they have a right to make the decision as to what they decide to do with the park. If Cedar Fair chooses to do so, they can sell the remainder of the lease and all the interest. However, Cedar Fair AND the city of Santa Clara must come to an agreement when it comes to unloading the park for other purposes besides operating it as an amusement park. Actually the city of Santa Clara only owns the land that the park sits on, and they collect $5 million in rent. Paramount bought all the assets several years ago from the city and that is what Cedar Fair owns today. The city owns the land. Cedar Fair owns all the stuff that sits on the land. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesdillaman Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 ^ But the city has to approve whatever that land is used for, so any potential buyer would still have to clear it with the city before demolishing the park. -James Dillaman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Team Thriller Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 Oh, GOD!!! I hope not!! If they buy this park...RRR!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angry_Gumball Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 You make it sound like Six Flags having no competition in NorCal is a bad thing. It is, in a sense. I mean, if they have nothing to compete with, then why bother adding major attractions? I see that if GA did close, then attendance would spike but after a while, with nothing to compete against there could be potential for the park to slack off as there's nothing to compete for. (Ok, maybe Santa Cruz, but I don't really count that as being a competing park as it's so well known/tourist attraction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XII Posted October 12, 2007 Share Posted October 12, 2007 If Cedar Fair wants to sell Great America, They should at least sell it to someone who will care about the park at all. The 49ers are the last people who should get their hands on Great America. Hell, Even condos would be better than a new Football Stadium!!!!! It looks like I finally found the Yankees of Football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebl Posted October 12, 2007 Share Posted October 12, 2007 Apparently, Cedar Fair is considering a name change to California's Great America. Read about that on Screamscape. Note that "Knott's" is crossed out at the top of the page. Personally, I like it better than "Knott's Great America." I think that will confuse people. Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunfire Posted October 12, 2007 Share Posted October 12, 2007 The fact that they might change it to "California's" GA, then it will be easier to tell the difference between SFGAM. But I'm glad that they're keeping the Great America name. I don't want to see a name change, as it's been called GA ever since it opened in 76. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angry_Gumball Posted October 12, 2007 Share Posted October 12, 2007 For some reason, California's Great America reminds me of "Six Flags California." (Seen at SFMM) Any ideas as to what Top Gun/Survivor are going to be renamed? (Please, no generic 'steel venom/dominator' names, Cedar Fair!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kraxleRIDAH Posted October 12, 2007 Share Posted October 12, 2007 You make it sound like Six Flags having no competition in NorCal is a bad thing. It is, in a sense. I mean, if they have nothing to compete with, then why bother adding major attractions? I see that if GA did close, then attendance would spike but after a while, with nothing to compete against there could be potential for the park to slack off as there's nothing to compete for. (Ok, maybe Santa Cruz, but I don't really count that as being a competing park as it's so well known/tourist attraction. Okay, I should clarify. I meant the elimination of Great America would not be a bad thing for Six Flags. BUT, for enthusiasts that love seeing new attractions introduced every year, lack of competition for Six Flags will tend to mean less new things to see and do every year. But for the company, no competition for Discovery Kingdom means a reduced capital plan for that park as they would now require a less aggressive marketing strategy. And for a company that's carrying a current debt load of $2 billion, that's a good thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BelizeIt Posted October 13, 2007 Share Posted October 13, 2007 I would imagine that the city of Santa Clara would have no objections to the 49ers acquiring Great America. The 49ers would of course "Pave-Over" and redevelop the entire site, much like Wes wants to see done to SFMM. The citys potential income from that site would grow well beyond the $5 million a year they are currently receiving by just leasing that land. What we see now when a new stadium is built, is it stimulates tremendous growth around the immediate area. Developers will usually build restaurants, retail, condo-towers, hotels and large entertainment districts around these new stadiums. That kind of development in turn generates high amounts of income for the city, in the form of various taxes (sales, real estate, hotel Etc...) I have nothing against Great America, when I lived in the bay area I had a season pass for many years. But, this park is past its prime, I mean how old is the "Demon" anyhow? If the price is right, I imagine that Cedar Fair won't blink an eye about letting this park go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tmcdllr Posted October 13, 2007 Share Posted October 13, 2007 Its just so wrong. Considering all the trouble the city has gone through to keep it around. I dont believe they would let it go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
methylene Posted October 13, 2007 Share Posted October 13, 2007 The NFL: Paving over amusement parks since 2005! Those 8 whole home games a year sure require a massive infrastructure to pull off, don't they? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedracer Posted October 14, 2007 Share Posted October 14, 2007 Interesting insight here, mainly this: SO CEDAR FAIR BROUGHT UP THE IDEA OF THE 49ERS PURCHASING THE PARK AT YOUR LAST MEETING? ""They brought it up as a potential.'' and this: "Cedar Fair has been in this business for a while, acquiring regional parks and things like that. But when you look at what they're doing, they're trying to acquire parks that they own the land underneath, so if - as in the case of Geauga Lake (a theme park in Ohio that is being shut down by Cedar Fair) - if the amusement park doesn't do well, they can go a different direction with real estate development or something like that. Which is, I think, a wise business approach. "But when you look at what they've done here, they brought litigators to all of their meetings. They never brought operations people that could sit down with us and try to figure out, you know 'What are your concerns? And how do we change the configuration of the site?" http://www.mercurynews.com/49ersheadlines/ci_7148445?nclick_check=1 Sounds more like CF is the one to blame if anything happens to GA by instigating a selloff as the only option for the 49'rs to get their stadium built. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angry_Gumball Posted October 15, 2007 Share Posted October 15, 2007 I absolutely hate seeing an amusement park to go down just for more houses that people can't even afford to purchase....especially in an already overpopulated area. Still though, I can't see the city letting go of GA...maybe it will be under different ownership if Cedar fair pulls off it's 'ditch the themepark' technique. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ginzo Posted October 15, 2007 Share Posted October 15, 2007 You know if Cedar Fair sells off all of its parks then they'll be totally out of debt. Just think of all the awesome things they could do without that millstone hanging around their necks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost007jas Posted October 15, 2007 Share Posted October 15, 2007 They should just sell all the parks except for Cedar Point. Than move all the coasters to Cedar Point, and than Cedar Point will be "teh roxorz". Just you wait Cedar Point fanboys, it's bound to happen one of these days . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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