Wild Rivers Lease extended for 2 more years

[Sir Clinksalot]

Finally some different news other than the yearly "this is Wild Rivers Last Year" news.

 

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/park-wild-rivers-2347731-irvine-water

 

IRVINE – Wild Rivers will live on, at least for two more summers, now that the Irvine Co. and the water park have agreed on a lease extension.

 

Wild Rivers, which was originally set to close in 2007 to make way for 3,700 homes near the 405 Freeway and Irvine Center Drive, will stay open until at least Oct. 31, 2010, president Mike Riedel said today.

 

The multi-year lease will allow Wild Rivers to unveil Buccaneer Bay, a new pirate-themed interactive play area expected to open in mid-June.

 

"We're really excited about being able to offer a new attraction and being able to offer entertainment for the community for the next couple years," Riedel said.

 

Wild Rivers, along with nearby Camp James and the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, sits on land the Irvine Co. hopes to eventually develop with homes. Irvine Co. officials expect to build the homes in phases, since the Verizon Amphitheatre's lease doesn't end until 2017.

 

I personally think the developer is just kidding themselves and should just give them a new longer term lease.

[darklingscribe]

They probably thought it was a better move to just try to out wait the housing market's bust with a company they know can deliver on the lease's payments.

 

I've always been meaning to head down there one of these days to check the park out, I love water parks and they seem to be disappearing up here in the bay area.

[socalMAN123]

^ You really should, Wild Rivers is a really fun park. It is a nice mix of old rides (the River Rapids are tube chute slides) and brand new ones (like The Patriot or Bazooka Bowls). I'm glad that the Irvine Co. lengthened the lease, this park brings in some major crowds over the summer.

---Brent

[Jew]

^^^The developer needs to be able to maintain the flexibility to have the project ready to go as soon possible when things eventually do fall into place. They're never going to sign a long term lease.

[Sir Clinksalot]

^ What I was implying is, that there is NEVER going to be a housing boom like there was in the early 00's until early 2008. Granted I'm assuming that we've learned from our mistakes. (no we meaning me, the "collective" we)

 

I mean, anybody could have gotten a home loan, even with no income verification. There are so many empty houses right now that it's going to be at least 7-10 years before the market needs an influx of new homes. At least IMO.

[ebl]

Had SFMM closed when it was "supposed to," there would have been a TON of unsold homes on that spot, given where the economy went.

 

I'm glad that Six Flags had the foresight to keep the park open. Though I've never been to Wild Rivers, it's nice to see that it will be around a bit longer.

 

Eric

[G-Force!]

This is great news for the park. If you haven't been there you should definitely try it while its still around because its actually a nice place to visit. Some might say its small but I think we say that only because Raging Waters is not so far away. Anyway, go there. It'll be worth the visit and your time.

[Goliath513]

I'm planning to head down to Wild Rivers when I'm down in southern California over Memorial Day Weekend. It looks like a great place. When I lived in northern California, my home waterpark just up the road from where I lived closed down after an accident in June 2004. Then the Oakwood Lake Resort and waterpark in the east bay area closed a few months later. I'm glad the owners of Wild Rivers have decided to keep the park open for two more years.

[Jew]

^^^^A giant empty plot of land in a prime location is always going to be a valuable asset. Obviously it's current value is down, but as soon as the economy rebounds...the "theoretical value" (as in, "this land is super valuable because you can theoretically build a bunch of houses, another giant mall, mixed use, offices, etc.) will shoot right back up to a ridiculous level!

[Sir Clinksalot]

^ Or an expanded waterpark.