Cypress Garden files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
By PHIL DAVIS
Associated Press Writer
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- Cypress Gardens, the 70-year-old central Florida theme park saved from the wrecking ball two years ago, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, citing debts incurred after it was hit by three hurricanes in 2004.
"Charley, Frances and Jeanne, that's what happened," Adventure Parks Group spokeswoman Sara Sumner said of the bankruptcy petition filed Monday in federal court. "We took three direct hits from those storms and the insurance company has balked at paying those claims."
The Winter Haven park, one of the oldest in Florida, will remain open and no major cutbacks are planned, Sumner said. All passes and discounts will be honored.
"This was a step to protect the park, the employees and the guests who come to the park," Sumner said. "It's a chance for us to reorganize. We don't expect any job losses. Our guests and our employees won't see any changes."
Ward Stone Jr., the company's bankruptcy attorney, said the park's insurance company has yet to pay most of the more than $25 million it cost to repair hurricane damage. The park is about $70 million in debt, he said. The bankruptcy filing lists more than $50 million in debts, including $1.1 million to an Atlanta landscaping firm.
Cypress Gardens opened in 1936 and was a hit for decades, but it was unable to compete later with the sophisticated attractions at nearby Walt Disney World, Universal Studios and Busch Gardens. It closed in 2003.
Valdosta, Ga., theme park operator Kent Buescher bought Cypress Gardens for $7 million under a complicated deal that involved state and local government and a nonprofit conservation group.
After a $45 million investment in four roller coasters, 34 other rides and new restaurants, Cypress Gardens reopened on Dec. 9, 2004, hoping to find a niche in central Florida's crowded tourism market.
Buescher, who owns Wild Adventures in Valdosta, kept the signature hoop-skirted belles, gardens and the water skiers, but hoped to lure a new generation of tourists with roller coasters with names like "Triple Hurricane," named for the trio of storms that hit the park.
Loyal fans who rallied to save the park were doubtful of Buescher's plans to build more thrill rides in the theme park-saturated Orlando area, but supported him because he agreed to keep park's traditional attractions intact.
"I'm devastated," said Burma Posey Davis, president of Friends of Cypress Gardens, who personally lobbied Gov. Jeb Bush to commit state funds to rescue the park in 2003. "I do hope it can be saved in the restructuring because it means so much to us. We applaud all the things Kent did, but it appears our concerns were founded. The roller coasters weren't enough to draw people away from Orlando."
Cypress gardens (overgenomen door Legoland)
Antwoord met Citaat
