New theme park and resort planned for Spring Hill, Tennessee

[Nic]

SPRING HILL, Tenn. - Spring Hill officials have announced plans for a major new theme park. The theme park would be called "Festival Tennessee," once developed.

The announcement was made at a news conference Wednesday afternoon.

Developers said they expected to invest $750 million of private funds to build a large, family friendly entertainment venue on 750 to 1,500 acres of land off Jim Warren Road.

Dennis Peterson, CEO of Big International Group of Entertainment based out of Las Vegas, said he had hopes of bringing restaurants, hotels, a sports complex, television studio and one of the largest water parks in the country that would include a Niagara Falls-type waterfall ride.

Spring Hill Mayor Michael Dinwiddie said when fully developed, the project would create 10,000 to 15,000 jobs in the area, based on similar projects.

"This community and this state need the funding that will come from what we're building. It will create more jobs... 15-20,000 jobs... minimum," Peterson said. "The revenue from this park will generate $400-$800 million total annual revenue."

Peterson also announced a plan to build a large basketball arena, and said his group has approached the NBA through different sources about bringing a team to Spring Hill.

Among the specifics announced by Peterson were:

* 80 restaurants;
* A new charter school with a focus on arts and graphic design;
* A sports complex with soccer fields for the community to use;
* A television and film studio;
* 2 large hotels with 4,000 rooms each;
* 2 magazines;
* A conference center.

Peterson said the Florida-based company hired to design the theme park, I-Tech Services, also worked on Disney World, Universal Studios, Hard Rock Cafe and the House of Blues.

Those close to the deal remained tight lipped about much of the specific logistics of the proposal. Elected officials signed non-disclosure statements that prohibited them from talking to the public about the proposal before Monday's announcement.

Much of the land to be used for the theme park was annexed into Spring Hill and rezoned.

Peterson said his group has not officially purchased the property for the development, but he said there can be a soft opening by November 2012.

Source: http://www.newschannel5.com/story/14170 ... pring-hill

However, since the announcement was made, there has been much controversy surrounding the plans. For one thing, this is the 3rd time that a theme park has been planned for the area, however the first two never came to fruition. The developer's past business ventures have also been called into question, along with a number of other factors that, in the eyes of some, just don't add up. Mind you, a lot of the backlash seems to be led by local residents, some of which are not best pleased with the prospect of the view out of their windows changing.

The blogosphere is still buzzing two days after the announcement that a massive theme park is coming to Spring Hill.

Developer Dennis Peterson proclaimed that Festival Tennessee would be open by next Thanksgiving, bringing "15 to 20,000 jobs minimum."

Almost immediately, bloggers like Nashville post writer J.R. Lind started listening, and then, started typing.

"It raised my eyebrow. I knew it was something to follow along with," said Lind. "People on Twitter could see what was happening. They could Google about this company's website, what their history is."

Among other things, Peterson promised to build a replica of Niagara Falls, and assured the crowd he had contacted the NBA about bringing a team to Spring Hill.

Bloggers grew increasingly skeptical.

"This company doesn't have a website, which in this day and age is unthinkable," said Lind.

Within minutes of the announcement, word of "Big International Group of Entertainment's" shaky past surfaced on Twitter; from a failed Michael Jackson movie to delinquent annual reports with the state of Nevada.

"It's like you have 1,500- 2,000 researchers and that's probably a good thing," Lind said.

Over the past two days, the doubts have led to jokes. Fake twitter accounts were created for Peterson and Spring Hill Mayor Mike Dinwiddie, even a fake website for Festival Tennessee.

And while blogs and tweets are almost always good for a laugh, they were also the first to raise some serious concerns in this case.

"The people who follow us feel involved. They feel a sense of ownership in the news as well," Lind said.

While Peterson said he has the $750 million necessary for the project, he has not released the names of his financial backers.

Officials have promised to hold future press conferences that will include representatives from the hotels, restaurants, and other entities that will be a part of Festival Tennessee.

Source: http://www.newschannel5.com/story/14190 ... theme-park

So, will this really happen, or is it just a fantasy? I guess only time will tell

 

[Gavin]

Yeah. This ain't happening.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jF_yLodI1CQ[/youtube]

 

[ECG]

The discussion continued at the Spring Hill Planning Commission meeting:

Members of the city Planning Commission talked tonight about ways to make sure Dennis Peterson develops Festival Tennessee as he described.

Mayor Michael Dinwiddie suggested the commission grant “conditional use” for the 1,500-acre development, which Peterson said would have a theme park, two resort hotels with 4,000 rooms each, 80 restaurants, a charter school, sports complex and a shopping outlet.

Peterson is asking the commission to recommend the Board of Mayor and Aldermen approve a rezoning of 725 acres to B4, the city’s most open commercial zone.

To develop the land, he would eventually have to come back to the commission with a site plan, which is when the commission would hold him to those conditions.

Town Planner Brad Thompson said, in this instance, they would define the meaning of a theme park as an open air, privately funded development that includes amusement park rides and water park rides organized around a central theme in close proximity to a resort hotel, multiple restaurants, and a regional shopping center.

Alderman Jonathan Duda suggested the commission require a commercial PUD (planned unit development), which works as an overlay to the zoning and addresses more specific details as outlined in the eight-page ordinance.

After a little debate about strategies, Commission Chairman Michael Glass pointed out that neither specifically addresses theme parks.

“It’s not every day a theme park comes to down,” he said.

Dinwiddie said conditional use would allow the developer to move forward with his plans and provide the city protection. If Peterson doesn’t meet the conditions, the property would revert back to its current zoning.

“We do have more extreme measures out there that are available to us if we need to utilize them,” he said.

The commission meets 5:30 p.m. March 14 to vote on a recommendation for the Board of Mayor and Aldermen, which will discuss the rezoning at its work session 7 p.m. the same day.

Source:
http://www.tennessean.com/article/2...Conditions-sought-Festival-Tennessee-rezoning

I also found some artwork, park plan & aerial photos of the proposed park:

Looks massive!

 

[Gazza]

If they are going to steal concept art, why steal from the 1980s?

 

[tomahawk]

I'm going with 70's for the artwork. I'm assuming this place is relatively close to Nashville? Unless this gets stamped with mouse ears, I don't see this happening.

 

[rollermonkey]

I'm sorry, but the more I see of this, the worse it looks.

Entertainment Komplex? Really?

And who makes a square theme park?

 

[KDGrizzly4Life]

^ That could just be the extent of the land. I doubt they will square a theme park off.

Interesting... I doubt this will happen, and quite frankly I really don't want to see another one of these:

 

[bizarrofan10]

d

So would there be any decent coasters?

 

[rollermonkey]

I'm going with no, because like those "projects" in Michigan and West Virginia, this isn't ever getting built.