Storyville Gardens

[smeagolsfree]

I think the difference is that Storyville is trying to self-fund with investors instead of getting a loan which is in some respects harder. All of the risk will be on the investors. If it does not get off the ground, then there will be some payback to the investors depending on how much they have spent in R & D.

These are tough times for sure and the longer this goes on with no news the worse it looks for them. I will bet some of the investors are starting to get a little worried about now. A little info being released on Facebook trying to quell the masses does no good. 

[Natti_amusements]

Yeah I was really hopeful about this happening, especially at the start of the year when we were hearing all sorts of stuff about proposed locations ect., but now I’m starting to doubt it’s progress, all things considered. I think the developers have a really good idea, but without proper execution, good marketing skills & the fact that the founder believes “anything is possible on your own if you keep trying” I think I’ll give it till the end of the year to hear any big new, if not I’ll just consider it another proposal people will reminisce about in a decade of so like they always do.

[donNdonelson2]

My thoughts from January 2021 have not substantially changed. It would be nice, but I still think the possibility of this happening  is incredibly unlikely.

[samsonh]

2 hours ago, donNdonelson2 said:

My thoughts from January 2021 have not substantially changed. It would be nice, but I still think the possibility of this happening  is incredibly unlikely.

Agreed. This whole thing seems like a grift imo.

[rolly]

Like I joked in another post, a mega Bucee's would make more sense. Seriously it would be much less risk and probably better tax revenue as well. 

[smeagolsfree]

I am hearing positive news!! Hopefully something solid will be forthcoming soon......

[smeagolsfree]

We probably will not be able to share but good news all in all.

[Luvemtall]

5 hours ago, smeagolsfree said:

We probably will not be able to share but good news all in all.

Do you think there’s still life in this project? If so, can we expect them to make some kind of announcement soon? Does it still appear to be as it has previous been ?

[smeagolsfree]

I think there is life from what I have heard if it true. Unsure about when an announcement will happen.

[nashscan]

16 hours ago, smeagolsfree said:

We probably will not be able to share but good news all in all.

That sounds like something a theme park developer would say!  

[Natti_amusements]

I haven’t replied on here in a while, but I was casually doing a little research, and saw that construction commencement has been updated to June 2023 on construction journal. It also states that they’re up to doing Schematic drawing for the project as well, but I’m not sure exactly how significant that is, cause I don’t know anything bout construction. This was all updated less than a week ago as well.
 

[Natti_amusements]

Hate to be the bringer of bad news, but it has been reported that Pat Emery, the notable developer that was involved in Storyville Gardens, has passed away. Not sure what this means for Storyville Gardens, but I unfortunately think this might more delays for the project. I’m starting not to get my hopes up. 
 

https://rutherfordsource.com/real-estate-developer-pat-emery-has-died/

[smeagolsfree]

I was not going to bring it up, but he may have been a major investor from what I have heard however not sure. This does not bode well for the project. as he was the big name behind the local group. Again, the Guerrier's are very much amateurs in regard to pulling off a project of this size, nature, & status. His death threw not only a monkey wrench into the plan, but maybe the death nail.

To pull this off properly, they need to bring a company that knows how to get it done like Universal or Legoland. The PR firm they are using is a joke and the way Mrs. Guerrier is handling things is not very good. A Facebook page releasing a little info. here and there is not the way to do things. They are already behind their official schedule as to when they were to break ground, and they have not officially announced a location. I hate to say it, but we have heard it before about amusement/theme parks here before, a lot of hype and very little action. Is this number 5 or 6? They may yet pull it off.

If there is a theme park for Middle TN, I think it will have to be one of the big boy companies to come in and make it happen.

[Luvemtall]

Smeags, I absolutely agree! If they ever plan on a theme park happening around here, then it definitely needs the backing of a major player !! 
does anyone remember right before Covid , the little rumor that Busch Gardens was surveying the area? Possibly near the SuperSpeedway? A company like that , I believe would be our only hope.

[smeagolsfree]

I am surprised another company has not jumped in here yet. There is a strong market with the tourism that is already here, and Disney is pricing themselves out of business in Florida. The more I see the more people hate them.  Went there twice as a kid and it was OK but overrated. A Cedar Fair Park would do well here along with something else. We could probably support a couple of parks if not three with the amount of tourism here as it would actually drive more people here just for the parks.

[Luvemtall]

56 minutes ago, smeagolsfree said:

I am surprised another company has not jumped in here yet. There is a strong market with the tourism that is already here, and Disney is pricing themselves out of business in Florida. The more I see the more people hate them.  Went there twice as a kid and it was OK but overrated. A Cedar Fair Park would do well here along with something else. We could probably support a couple of parks if not three with the amount of tourism here as it would actually drive more people here just for the parks.

More then one park, would probably be better in the long run. They could feed off of each other in the same manner as Universal Studios,Disney etc does in Florida. There’s areas along the interstates, throughout the Metro such as 65 south in the Spring Hill area, 40 both to the west and east of the city, and of course 840 between Murfreesboro and Lebanon. Remember the  Disney parks in Florida are 30 miles out from Orlando ( which was only about the size of Murfreesboro back then) on land that was orange groves and swamp land , that nobody thought would ever amount to anything. Multiple parks and entertainment districts located within close proximity to each other and within that 20-30 mile radius of Downtown would thrive, with as you mentioned the tourism that already exists. 
I believe a park such as Storyville Gardens, would succeed if indeed there were parks like Cedar Fair, Legoland, Busch Gardens, etc to feed off of. 

[VSRJ]

The only chains that have built/are building parks from the ground up in recent years have been Legoland and Universal, and I don't anticipate either of them entering the market here. Universal is busy building its third gate in Orlando (Epic Universe) and Legoland just opened a new resort in New York. Six Flags and Cedar Fair are both dealing with their own struggles. The only way I see them adding to their portfolios is through acquisitions of existing parks.

Nashville is severely lacking in things to do for the <21 crowd, so I think a theme park is viable. It's just such a monumental feat to pull off, especially considering the space needed to ensure that it has room to expand.

[jmtunafish]

3 hours ago, VSRJ said:

The only chains that have built/are building parks from the ground up in recent years have been Legoland and Universal, and I don't anticipate either of them entering the market here. Universal is busy building its third gate in Orlando (Epic Universe) and Legoland just opened a new resort in New York. Six Flags and Cedar Fair are both dealing with their own struggles. The only way I see them adding to their portfolios is through acquisitions of existing parks.

Nashville is severely lacking in things to do for the <21 crowd, so I think a theme park is viable. It's just such a monumental feat to pull off, especially considering the space needed to ensure that it has room to expand.

Totally agreed.  When I saw the post earlier showing the estimated value of the park's development at $300 million, I thought that seemed low.  According to this article from The Park Database in 2017, it costs $350 million to build a Six Flags or Cedar Fair, and the assumption is that each visitor spends $159-175 per day in order for the park to make a profit, and that's assuming that there are over 2 million annual visitors.  I imagine that $350 million figure would be considerably more today.  Disney and Universal spend up to $100 million for a single new attraction.  If Storyville Gardens has a budget of only $300 million, I don't think we can expect much.  And if a $350 million park can be profitable only if each visitor spends $160 per day, I don't think Storyville Gardens is being realistic.

When this was first announced, I was very bullish.  The longer this drags out, the less enthusiastic I've become.

[go_outside]

1 hour ago, jmtunafish said:

Disney and Universal spend up to $100 million for a single new attraction.  If Storyville Gardens has a budget of only $300 million, I don't think we can expect much. 

One minor correction that further emphasizes your point: Disney just spent $500 million on their new Guardians of the Galaxy coaster (per Bloomberg). It takes some very deep pockets to play in that space.

[smeagolsfree]

That’s why it cost your first born to enter the park.

[jjbradleyBrooklyn]

I wonder if the folks behind Dollywood would ever be interested in this park? I know they own Dollywood, Silver Dollar City in Branson, MO, and they purchased Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville a couple years ago, as well.

I remember Dolly Parton was going to join with a group about a decade or so ago, for a theme park in the Nashville area, but withdrew. 

 

Edited October 12, 2022 by jjbradleyBrooklyn

[Luvemtall]

I thought for sure Dolly might be interested in Storyville, since she is so involved with literacy and her Imagination library. Just seems like a perfect fit, and gets her into the Nashville market that she has mentioned she would like to do. 

[Natti_amusements]

I know this thread has been a bit dead for awhile, but I just realised that IAPPA 2023 is on in Orlando in the coming weeks, and I was wondering if Storyville or even StoryLand Studios (the park designers) have  any announcements planned up the sleeves for the convention regarding Storyville Gardens. Not like I expect them to, because of how slow the project is moving, if it's not already canceled, but just wanted to put the idea out there, incase anyone knows if anything's planned.

Edited November 4, 2022 by Natti_amusements

[smeagolsfree]

I think it is radio silence at this point. The last I saw now is opening date 2025 and they are trying to get folks to buy presale tickets coming soon on the website. Why in the world would you put money down for tickets to a park that has not even got a location.

Home - Storyville Gardens

[Luvemtall]

Seems as if they put the cart in front of the horse. Tickets to what? A dream or fantasy of a small time developer. Yeah the concept is cool, the ideas and renderings so far not bad, the design team exceptional but the execution… not so good. Just because you have a vision, doesn’t mean you have the means to deliver, and I’m starting to believe that this is the case. Developing a Theme Park , even a smaller one such as this come with a price tag in the billions not 300 million! Even in phases, the first one would need to provide a lot of infrastructure, utilities, and enough attractions to draw in the required amount of patrons to make it profitable. Not sure where this would actually end up, but I know the property in Lebanon that has been mentioned needs a lot of site prep. That alone would be a chunk of change, not counting the improvements of the state and city roadways that would be a must to accommodate the traffic to and from the park. I hope I’m wrong, but it’s beginning to look like this is dead in the water and we all have to continue to wait for a park in our neck of the world.