A newly-formed company by the name of Bluegrass Boardwalk, comprised of four individuals who are tied to the Holiday World family, has confirmed that they are in fact looking to reopen the shuttered Kentucky Kingdom amusement park. The press release from Holiday World reads:
“Members of the Koch family in Santa Claus, Indiana, continue to explore re-opening Louisville’s amusement and water park in 2013. Four family members have formed a new company – Bluegrass Boardwalk, Incorporated – to negotiate a lease agreement with the Kentucky State Fair Board, secure financing, and apply for economic development incentives from the Commonwealth of Kentucky. No public monies will be requested from the Kentucky Legislature by Bluegrass Boardwalk, Incorporated.
The members of the Koch family involved in discussions with the Kentucky State Fair Board as Bluegrass Boardwalk, Incorporated are Holiday World president Dan Koch, his sister Natalie Koch, their cousin Kathy Kamp, and her husband, Michael Kamp, who is a General Manager at Holiday World. Dan, Natalie and Kathy are grandchildren of Holiday World’s founder, Louis J. Koch, who opened the park (originally called Santa Claus Land) in 1946.
As updates about Bluegrass Boardwalk are made public, information will be posted online at http://BluegrassBoardwalk.com, on Facebook: http://Facebook.com/BluegrassBoardwalk and via Twitter: @BluegrassBwalk.”
While this is all very exciting news, there are many questions that remained unanswered. It appears that the name of the park will be “Bluegrass Boardwalk.” However, that does not reveal whether or not the park will become a waterpark-only entity or if the dry side of the park will remain operational as well. The logo’s carousel horse, along with splashing water, points to possibly the park continuing to operate in the way that Kentucky Kingdom was operated. I will be disappointed if the “Kentucky Kingdom” name is dropped all together, but I understand the need for the park to have a new identity.
We’ll bring you more details as they are made known. This is a very exciting development, and we wish the Koch family the best of luck.
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