California’s Great America is set to close after more than four decades in operation Credit: WikiCommons
Cedar Fair’s California’s Great America theme park will close in the next ten years after the operator announced that it had sold the land the park is built on.
First opened in 1976 as Marriott's Great America, the theme park in Santa Clara, California, has transitioned through owners several times, with Cedar Fair purchasing the property outright in 2019 for US$150m (€143.3m, £124m) after taking up operations in 2007.
Cedar Fair suffered huge losses in 2020 as all of its parks were forced to close as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. During that period, Great America remained closed for the entire time. Following a strategic revue in 2021, the company saw an opportunity to sell the land in Santa Clara, with a US$310m (€296m, £255.8m) fee agreed with real estate company Prologis earlier this year.
“Cedar Fair intends to use proceeds from the land sale transaction to accelerate progress on its strategic priorities of reducing debt to achieve its US$2bn (€1.91bn, £1.65bn) target, investing in high-return projects within its portfolio such as upgrading resort properties, and reinstating a sustainable unitholder distribution,” said a Cedar Fair statement.
Cedar Fair has agreed to a lease with Prologis, ensuring the park will continue to operate in the short-term for several more years, but with an ultimate closure by 2033 at the latest.
“We chose Prologis as our partner because of their deep ties in the Bay Area and their reputation for working closely with local communities on large developments,” said Cedar Fair’s president and CEO, Richard Zimmerman.
“For our investors, the sale and lease agreements allow us to monetise a high-value asset in the heart of Silicon Valley at a very attractive multiple. The transaction also provides us with a substantial sum of incremental capital which we intend to use to further advance our strategic priorities and generate enhanced returns for our unitholders.”
California’s Great America is set to close after more than four decades in operation Credit: WikiCommons
Cedar Fair’s California’s Great America theme park will close in the next ten years after the operator announced that it had sold the land the park is built on.
First opened in 1976 as Marriott's Great America, the theme park in Santa Clara, California, has transitioned through owners several times, with Cedar Fair purchasing the property outright in 2019 for US$150m (€143.3m, £124m) after taking up operations in 2007.
Cedar Fair suffered huge losses in 2020 as all of its parks were forced to close as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. During that period, Great America remained closed for the entire time. Following a strategic revue in 2021, the company saw an opportunity to sell the land in Santa Clara, with a US$310m (€296m, £255.8m) fee agreed with real estate company Prologis earlier this year.
“Cedar Fair intends to use proceeds from the land sale transaction to accelerate progress on its strategic priorities of reducing debt to achieve its US$2bn (€1.91bn, £1.65bn) target, investing in high-return projects within its portfolio such as upgrading resort properties, and reinstating a sustainable unitholder distribution,” said a Cedar Fair statement.
Cedar Fair has agreed to a lease with Prologis, ensuring the park will continue to operate in the short-term for several more years, but with an ultimate closure by 2033 at the latest.
“We chose Prologis as our partner because of their deep ties in the Bay Area and their reputation for working closely with local communities on large developments,” said Cedar Fair’s president and CEO, Richard Zimmerman.
“For our investors, the sale and lease agreements allow us to monetise a high-value asset in the heart of Silicon Valley at a very attractive multiple. The transaction also provides us with a substantial sum of incremental capital which we intend to use to further advance our strategic priorities and generate enhanced returns for our unitholders.”
