California Great America (CGA) Discussion Thread

[Columbia]

So with the new re-theme clearly in place, does this mean we finally have to say goodbye to the "Powdered Toast Man" and " Log" ads that miraculously survived two complete Nickelodeon area re-themes?

 

For those of you who didn't grow up with the original Nicktoons:

 

#1 - I'm sorry.

#2 - Powdered Toast Man was an infrequent guest on the Ren and Stimpy Show, voiced by the great Gary Owens.

#3 - Log was better than bad, it was good!

[Angry_Gumball]

Interesting 49ers drama... We'll see how things pan out. Why couldn't the 49ers supply a brand new multi level parking structure to satisfy both the park and the team? Then with leftover space, expansion! (I can dream, can't I?)

Great America owners want rent cut if 49er stadium built

 

In a move that should surprise no one watching the battle for a new 49er stadium in Santa Clara, the owner of Great America amusement part has sent a letter to the city asking, in essence, "What's in it for me?"

 

Also not surprisingly, they have a suggestion: eliminate the guaranteed minimum rent of $5.3 million Cedar Fair has to pay the city each year.

 

"We believe it is essential that any proposed resolution include a realignment of the economic interests of the city and Cedar Fair," Geoffrey Etnire, an attorney for the company, wrote in a letter to City Manager Jennifer Sparacino. "The city must be prepared to accept some of the risk that the revenues and profitability of Great America will be reduced."

 

Cedar Fair, which purchased Great America four years ago, has complained from the start that the plan to put the new stadium on Great America's overflow parking lot will hurt attendance and could even force the amusement park to "go dark" on game days.

 

"It would be unfair for the City to take actions that imperil revenues and profitability at Great America while still insisting on the same guaranteed minimum rent," Etnire added.

 

Expect the city to focus on one word: "Guaranteed." If no agreement is reached, Cedar Fair wants to take its complaint to the City Council on May 11.

-- John Wildermuth

 

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/cityinsider/detail?entry_id=62059#ixzz0mpPJErOA

[Mechanic]

If Cedar Fair were smart, instead of throwing up resistance to the new stadium (which I think is likely to be built despite the park's objections) they could partner with the developers for a parking structure and offer before or after game specials. They could have signs in the satdium and parking structure indicating that new rides and attractions are "coming soon" to entice visitors that have grown weary of the park to visit again. They might actually be able to increase traffic and profits within the park.

 

Oh, wait... That makes too much sense to ever really happen. Sorry. Carry on.

 

Mech- I'm burned out on the same old CGA -anic

[Angry_Gumball]

I just don't want to see another Astroworld happen...Your idea seems great, would be a great way to promote stuff for the park. I really don't think these two can really operate normally without a parking structure though. As said, making a nice multi level structure will possibly open up the rest of the lot for future expansion. A parking structure would take a much smaller footprint and probably could accommodate more cars with multiple floors. As you said, maybe a joint project would make this the most feasible.

 

Also, trying to think of plus sides if they both coexist: Dad can go to the game with his buddies while Mom can take the kids to the park. It could also bring more people into the area, increasing park attendance as they realize there's an amusement park next to the facility. Some people may be that naive in the bay area to know where CGA is, or have never been to CGA regardless of how long they've lived here.

[alexinla]

Do you guys know how much a Parkinggarage actually costs? On average it will be $15000/per space

http://www.vtpi.org/tca/tca0504.pdf

Now build a garage that can hold 20000 cars and you end up with a pricetag of $300 Million, considering building codes in California are a lot tougher, the price will be even more

Nobody is going to spent that $$$, so not really worth taking that option into consideration

[Mechanic]

It's not as if they allow you to park for free.

[alexinla]

Does not matter what they charge. A seasonal park and a stadium with 8 homegames a year does not warrent a $300 Mill Parkinggarage. It would be just silly to think so

[Mechanic]

Stadiums, especially new and state of the art ones, can also play host to multiple events during the year such as Monster Truck shows, concerts, Supercross races, etc. With the kind of outrageous prices they charge for parking at those types of events, I could see a struture easily being economically viable. To think that the only patrons of a parking structure would be seasonal park goers and those attending 8 regular season football games is simply not accurate. Those other streams of revenue would have to be considered. Over time, I'm certain a parking structure could pay for itself and generate a profit.

[Jew]

Modern NFL stadiums generate hundreds of millions of dollars each year. Someone will pay for a parking garage if that is what it takes to get the stadium built.

[Patman]

News on Invertigo: The mechanics have finished reassembling the lift hills and the train has been mounted onto the track, but they still have to run tests and inspections.

[Tmcdllr]

Awesome! Can't wait to finally ride it again. Wasn't the cause of this whole mess a broken lift chain and have they said exactly how that happened?

[Patman]

No official statement on what happened back in august only speculation. I agree with you though it's the only thing that makes sense.

[Tmcdllr]

I'm curious to know why that happened, was it the park, was it a defect, what? Those lift chains don't just break like that for no reason....or do they? I'm still gonna ride it anyway.

[KGA29]

I went to the park yesterday for a couple hours to get my pass and check it out. Just some observations:

 

-Lines were relatively long (for CGA) so like 20-30 min for the roller coasters and Survivor. Even Drop Tower had a line, but they were only running 3 cabins.

-Planet Snoopy looks ok. Peanuts Pirates is the best out of the rethemes, but there is nothing special at all about the "new" land. I was disappointed that the water tower did not stay around.

-Kidzville looks ok also. Swing Swing Swing is the worst name possible for those kiddie swings. The Carousel is much lamer without the cool characters, but those are the only two major changes.

-Lifeguards were training yesterday in preparation of Boomerang Bay opening in 2 weeks. However, Kookaburra Cay was open even though the rest of the water park was not.

-The new Panda Express looks really good on the outside. The only downfall is that it is $$$$$$$ But I guess you can expect that at an amusement park.

 

Other than that, the park was same old, same old.....desparate for a new ride.

[6flagsbrad]

I visited the park for the first time on saturday the 22nd. I'm not gonna lie, but I was a little disappointed

The rides were...ok, though I was very pleased with Flight Deck and Demon. Invertigo was closed, Vortex was very painful, and Grizzly was slow.

It was a bit odd, I thought, how so many rides were closed at opening with major cherry-pickers and mechanics, and were open later that day, such as Drop Tower, Firefall, and Survivor. My overall complaint though, is the Vortex. It is just too painful to enjoy, which is just too bad. It is a really unique ride, but the restraints just kill the entire ride (and your ears). And also a quick question, why did they remove Greezed Lightning?

It didn't seem that there was anything in place of it. Oh well.

 

Overall, it was a fun first-time experience and recommend going if you haven't.

 

~Ride Counts~

Demon - 3

Flight Deck - 1

Vortex - 2

Grizzly - 2

Survivor - 1

Wild Mouse - 1

Drop Tower - 1

Firefall - 1

Logride - 2

[Angry_Gumball]

News on Invertigo: The mechanics have finished reassembling the lift hills and the train has been mounted onto the track, but they still have to run tests and inspections.

 

Yea, I noticed the assembled trains today, loaded up with water dummies...looks like it should undergo testing real soon, hopefully opening soon. Was definitely glad to see the trains back on track though.

[Patman]

The mechanics were cycling the ride last week but they stopped to fix some bugs in the system.

[Olsor]

Santa Clara voters OK new stadium for 49ers [link]

 

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- The 49ers moved a step closer to leaving their longtime San Francisco home after residents in the Silicon Valley city of Santa Clara voted in favor of a new stadium for the NFL team.

 

"For almost a decade and a half, the San Francisco 49ers and our faithful fans have dreamed about playing at home in a world-class stadium, and now those dreams are closer to reality," 49ers president and CEO Jed York said in a statement released by the team. "We can now proceed with our plans to build the premier, open-air sports and entertainment venue in the world."

 

The team said that it hopes to begin construction on a new stadium in 2012, once project approvals and financing plans are finalized, with the goal of playing in their new home in 2014.

[SharkTums]

^Honestly, I haven't really been following this at all. This is BAD for the park right?

 

Cause the stadium on game days will basically force the park to close due to parking constraints?

 

Please fill me in, thanks!

[Josh Linn]

The 49ers deserve a new stadium...Candlestick is antiquated to the umpteenth degree, and the city gave the Giants a new stadium over 10 years ago. This will be huge for luring free agents and increasing revenue. As a sports fan, I'm very pleased.

[stricklandCC]

^^ yeah, I don't think this is GOOD for CGA. I know CF was fighting the inclusion of the stadium on this past ballot, so they obviously didn't want this to happen, why?, who knows. In the few articles I have read, it seemed CF was most concerned about the loss of revenue on 49er game days, stating they wanted the team(49ers) to pay CGA "x" amount of dollars on game days to make up for the loss in ticket sales, or something like that. I pass by the park frequently, and still can't figure out which parking lot they intend on using for the stadium. I have also read that a new parking structure would be necessary to accommodate the masses. In the end, who knows what this really means for the future of CGA, it COULD be bargaining power for CF...I can hear something like: "let the 49ers build a new stadium, and let us build a new coaster"...only time will tell.

[Angry_Gumball]

Getting real bad feelings about this...again, as I posted earlier, I really don't want to see another Astroworld happen due to a stadium. Hopefully the 2 can coexist, and the park won't take so much of a loss due to this stadium. We already discussed this a few pages back, but perhaps a parking structure can be built large enough to suit both the stadium and the park on home game days. Or...why don't the 49ers just train in their shiny new stadium and pave the training facility so they can use that for a parking structure?

[Millenniumfan94]

I think CF could capitalize on a new stadium, they could "lure" folks into the park before/after games. Plus there will be an increased amount of traffic to the location.

[haiderodes]

I pass by the park frequently, and still can't figure out which parking lot they intend on using for the stadium..

 

The proposed site is the overflow lot which is approximately east/northeast of the main parking area. Here is a pic I took when I visted last month....its located across that grassy area.

 

For reference, I was standing about here when I took that photo.

 

I think its funny how they complain about the park being a nuisance (even thought it was there before the majority of the development) yet having thousands of cars and rowdy fans tailgaiting isnt? Hmmm. The big thing with stadiums is that football is only a portion of its revenue stream. It also needs to draw in concerts and other events it help pay the bills in the off-season. This also can have a negative impact on the park.

[fatdaddy]

If its going to be the premier, open-air sports and entertainment venue in the world, shouldn't that include it's own parking structure?