Storyville Gardens

[samsonh]

15 minutes ago, Natti_amusements said:

Yeah being too transparent before things are locked in can lead to a development failing.  Currently Storyville gardens are stating no delays for the project, and that a 2025 opening date is still the goal, as of Facebook comments 2 or so days ago. Not sure if 2025 will happen depending if the project has evolved to become bigger than expected, but good to see them at least answering some questions.

https://www.facebook.com/storyvillegardens

Well spring 2025 will not happen. That’s barely enough time to build a nice home, much less an amusement park. 

[Luvemtall]

2 hours ago, Natti_amusements said:

Yeah being too transparent before things are locked in can lead to a development failing.  Currently Storyville gardens are stating no delays for the project, and that a 2025 opening date is still the goal, as of Facebook comments 2 or so days ago. Not sure if 2025 will happen depending if the project has evolved to become bigger than expected, but good to see them at least answering some questions.

https://www.facebook.com/storyvillegardens

Saw this yesterday, with all the latest tips and bits of information seems like there’s activity on going. At least it appears that way, it’s just a little difficult to be patient and wait. If this comes to fruition, and as planned it does have the ability to change a region and be a great add to the Metro. If it goes to Lebanon as rumored, it for sure would be the catalyst that city needs to become a player in The MSA. 

[Natti_amusements]

New Theme park announcement as part of $2b resort in Oklahoma along route 66, called heartland of America. Concept art on their website looks to be quite detailed/impressive, and it has many ex-Disney imagineers on board.

Wonder how Storyville will be impacted???

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230719039822/en/American-Heartland-Announces-2-Billion-Theme-Park-and-Resort-Development-in-Northeast-Oklahoma

Website: https://www.americanheartlandthemepark.com

[BnaBreaker]

5 hours ago, Natti_amusements said:

New Theme park announcement as part of $2b resort in Oklahoma along route 66, called heartland of America. Concept art on their website looks to be quite detailed/impressive, and it has many ex-Disney imagineers on board.

Wonder how Storyville will be impacted???

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230719039822/en/American-Heartland-Announces-2-Billion-Theme-Park-and-Resort-Development-in-Northeast-Oklahoma

Website: https://www.americanheartlandthemepark.com

My question is who would invest $2 billion into building a theme park in a place where the nearest significant population center (Tulsa) is over an hour away?  The next closest is Northwest Arkansas, and there isn't even a direct main route from there to the area this park is in.  And both of those places combined don't have as many people as metro Nashville does alone.  And to add to the mystery, neither of those population centers are much of a tourist draw already.  So these developers are either banking heavily that a HUGE proportion of the existing population in a two hour radius is going to drive to attend their park, or their banking on out of state tourists suddenly putting northeast Oklahoma on their maps due to this park alone.  I don't know.  Seems like a pretty shaky gamble to me.  

Edited July 22, 2023 by BnaBreaker

[donNdonelson2]

1 hour ago, BnaBreaker said:

My question is who would invest $2 billion into building a theme park in a place where the nearest significant population center (Tulsa) is over an hour away?  The next closest is Northwest Arkansas, and there isn't even a direct main route from there to the area this park is in.  And both of those places combined don't have as many people as metro Nashville does alone.  And to add to the mystery, neither of those population centers are much of a tourist draw already.  So these developers are either banking heavily that a HUGE proportion of the existing population in a two hour radius is going to drive to attend their park, or their banking on out of state tourists suddenly putting northeast Oklahoma on their maps due to this park alone.  I don't know.  Seems like a pretty shaky gamble to me.  

Silver Dollar City (and Branson in general) have been tourist destinations for many decades. (Silver Dollar City reported a record 2.2 million visitors in 2018.) Branson was/is definitely in the middle of nowhere! If this new park is done right, there’s no reason to think it cannot be successful just because of its rather remote location. (Of course, there’s a chance this thing never happens. I wouldn’t want to be an investor in building a theme park right now.)

Edited July 22, 2023 by donNdonelson2
Add attendance numbers

[donNdonelson2]

Something else to ponder. In 1970 the population of Metro Orlando was 310,000. 

[BnaBreaker]

3 hours ago, donNdonelson2 said:

Silver Dollar City (and Branson in general) have been tourist destinations for many decades. (Silver Dollar City reported a record 2.2 million visitors in 2018.) Branson was/is definitely in the middle of nowhere! If this new park is done right, there’s no reason to think it cannot be successful just because of its rather remote location. (Of course, there’s a chance this thing never happens. I wouldn’t want to be an investor in building a theme park right now.)

Definitely a fair point, but wasn't Branson already a tourist destination when it was built?  In other words, they had a built in customer base, essentially.   This park would basically be trying to start a tourist industry in the area from scratch, while competing directly with Branson not too far up the road.  I dunno, maybe I'm looking this in all the wrong ways but it just seems like an odd spot for a multi billion dollar development.  

[donNdonelson2]

17 minutes ago, BnaBreaker said:

Definitely a fair point, but wasn't Branson already a tourist destination when it was built?  In other words, they had a built in customer base, essentially.   This park would basically be trying to start a tourist industry in the area from scratch, while competing directly with Branson not too far up the road.  I dunno, maybe I'm looking this in all the wrong ways but it just seems like an odd spot for a multi billion dollar development.  

Oh, I agree that there’s a lot odd about this proposal. Having worked in the industry for a big chunk of my career, I’m skeptical of any proposed new park that doesn’t have one of the big names as a backer. But, I’m happy to be proven wrong if they’re able to pull this off. (Much the same as my feelings about Storyville Gardens.)

[MLBrumby]

The landscape is littered with abandoned amusement parks. I've seen a few on Youtube. 

So what's its name going to be? Tornado Land? Windswept Plains? Nowheresville? Lost Prairie Resort? OKay Village? What could be the attraction? Simulated twisters in an RV? Granted, I understand that RV travel has picked up a lot since the pandemic; maybe it will set a trend like a super-duper RV park that's a mashup of glamping and KOA on steroids. Yet another thing I know nothing about. 

[donNdonelson2]

From Fox19

[donNdonelson2]

Another share from Facebook about the Oklahoma park proposal 

[smeagolsfree]

They will face some challenges for sure being where it is. How many of these have we seen proposed for Nashville?

[nashville born]

Pulling for them and Storyville.

[Luvemtall]

1 hour ago, nashville born said:

Pulling for them and Storyville.

Yeah same here, I don’t see the Oklahoma park has a deterrent for Storyville in anyway. There’s many parks throughout the country and I feel there’s room for more. I keep checking the limited sources available for any new updates on Storyville, but all I can see is very few responses to Facebook posts from whoever to monitoring it for them. Basically telling those that ask, there’s a lot going on behind the scenes and the park is still happening. I know certain details need to be kept confidential for one reason or another, but it’s been a very long time since we’ve had any information about this park. So crumbles would be welcomed

[jjbradleyBrooklyn]

This is most likely not welcomed news by Silver Dollar City. This would be relatively "close" to that park.

[Natti_amusements]

I just found an interview with founder of Storyville that states they apparently have 700 acres, with the park said to be a 10th of that land.
 

https://www.wordonthestreets.net/Articles/665814/Storyville_Gardens.aspx

[Luvemtall]

21 hours ago, Natti_amusements said:

I just found an interview with founder of Storyville that states they apparently have 700 acres, with the park said to be a 10th of that land.
 

https://www.wordonthestreets.net/Articles/665814/Storyville_Gardens.aspx

That’s very interesting, wonder if that amount of acres has anything to do with the meetings they had with Piza Golf and Forrec. Also means that they wouldn’t be looking at the site in Lebanon that everyone had rumored on. Now as I mentioned earlier, right around the same time they were having those said meetings it was mentioned in a podcast that they were talking to a realtor about land and right after that the large tract next to the SuperSpeedway was under contract. 

[Luvemtall]

Storyville Gardens just updated their cover photo on Facebook, and made comment about details coming soon 

[Argo]

Where's the money for this coming from in this economy.

[Luvemtall]

19 minutes ago, Argo said:

Where's the money for this coming from in this economy.

Please stop your bellyaching gloom and doom the economy is horrible bull. The economy is In better condition than pre Covid, and frankly it gets to be tiring to listen to all your nonsense whining about it. 

[Argo]

19 minutes ago, Luvemtall said:

Please stop your bellyaching gloom and doom the economy is horrible bull. The economy is In better condition than pre Covid, and frankly it gets to be tiring to listen to all your nonsense whining about it. 

eeeeeee yep.

[Sean blackdog]

That’s ? 

[BnaBreaker]

2 hours ago, Luvemtall said:

Please stop your bellyaching gloom and doom the economy is horrible bull. The economy is In better condition than pre Covid, and frankly it gets to be tiring to listen to all your nonsense whining about it. 

Amen to that.  It's just non stop whining and negativity from this guy.  Ironically, he's probably the type who likes to grumble about how younger generations supposedly like to whine about things. 

Also, as I've said before, obviously there are issues that need fixing with the economy.  I mean, let's be honest, there is never not a time where there isn't room for improvement.  But it must require an extreme level of cognitive dissonance for someone from one of the biggest boomtowns in the country, with more cranes on the skyline than it has ever had in it's history, to believe that the economy is in the tank.  

[Luvemtall]

2 hours ago, Sean blackdog said:

That’s ? 

Good find Sean , I think in the early stages this was a contender, along with the 140 acre property in Lebanon ( which there are renderings for that also) . Now if recent rumors are true , they apparently have 700 acres which I believe these early properties are not. It’s Location is The Million Dollar Question, and I guess we all need to  hold are breath and wait . Is that right Smeags? Or are you holding out on us 

[smeagolsfree]

On the note of the economy, I will say this; things are very slow right now and that goes for real estate transactions, construction starts, news in general, MDHA, Planning agenda items, permits in general, & I can keep on going. The Fed has done their job of slowing the economy down. It is very evident here for sure. You may not think so but talk to commercial real estate brokers and they will tell you it is dead.  This project may well be dead as I doubt, they will be able to afford the interest rates for the construction loans that are forthcoming.

More and more of these projects are delayed because they are waiting on the capital markets to improve. Well, let me tell you that is going to be a long wait. Interest rates are not going to fall anytime soon.