Specifically Williams Arizona.
Found this while researching ways to do the Canyon and found the overnight train excursion located here but Google showed results for this and they want SEAS to run it:
2/17/2015 11:10:00 AM
Williams theme park plan unveiled
Granger Group lays out plan to build theme park on the Gonzales Ranch Property located north of Interstate 40 and west of the Quality Inn
Marissa Freireich
Williams-Grand Canyon News Reporter
WILLIAMS, Ariz. - Amusement park rides, an adventure course, a wilderness area, an amphitheater, a hotel and spa and themed restaurants are all part of a proposed theme park plan for Williams.
Representatives from the Granger Group in Michigan presented their initial plans to Williams City Council members at the Feb. 12 meeting. The development group has completed several health care and senior living complexes, but has never developed a theme park.
The Granger Group's Gary Granger, president and CEO, and Greg Markvluwer, senior vice president, discussed their vision for developing a theme park that would drive tourism throughout the state.
"We think it's going to work very well and we think it's going to be a stepping stone to another project in the Phoenix area, and that's going to be a stepping stone to the whole concept of international travel, understanding that this is the Grand Canyon state," Granger said.
In December and January, the Williams City Council, the Phoenix City Council and the Coconino County Board of Supervisors voted to approve the geographic boundaries and governing body of the first Arizona theme park district in Williams. The five-member board had its first meeting on Feb. 13 (see related story on page 3A).
State legislation allows for the Arizona theme park district board to issue as much as $1 billion in bonds to pay for any number of theme parks. The district boundaries already include two properties in Williams, and the board may also add some property in Phoenix in the future.
The two areas within the Williams theme park district are: the piece of land known as the Gonzales Ranch Property located north of Interstate 40 and west of the Quality Inn and a piece of land north of Rodeo Road just east of the railroad tracks. The first area could be a theme park location and the second area is the planned location for Al Richmond's Arizona State Railroad Museum.
The Granger Group's proposal would likely use about 40 percent of the theme park district board's available bonding authority for the Williams project. Nine percent of the revenue generated at the theme park would be used to pay off the bonds required to build the park.
"This is not something that the community is going to pay taxes on," Granger emphasized. "All we are going to do is take the revenue that is generated that you don't have today, and we're going to be able to recapture 9 percent of that revenue and that 9 percent is used to pay off the capital investment."
According to its proposal, the Granger Group projects the theme park to cost between $300 million and $500 million to develop, see between 2.5 million and 4 million visitors annually, and generate $100 million to $125 million in gross revenue.
In his presentation, Markvluwer compared plans for the potential Williams theme park to the operation of Busch Gardens in Tampa Bay, Florida. The piece of land set aside for a theme park in Williams is 488 acres. Busch Gardens is located on 335 acres of land, and receives 4.3 million visitors each year.
Max Biegert, who started the Grand Canyon Railway, bought the 488 acre property that is now located within the Williams theme park district 26 years ago.
"It was purchased for that reason," he said. "I felt a theme park, done properly there, would really work. And it will."
The Granger Group believes a theme park could convince tourists to plan longer trips and explore more areas of the state.
"Our goal here is by using these theme parks as a catalyst to extend the stay and bring the Grand Canyon to be known as the Arizona destination by creating say a three or a five day pass where people can fly into Sky Harbor, they can buy that pass and have the opportunity to stop at a theme park in Phoenix, travel up, hit a number of the venues on the way up, whether it's Bearizona, whether it's the Williams theme park, whether it's the Grand Canyon, and they can spend a five day tourism stay right here in the great state of Arizona," Markvluwer said.
The theme park plans call for an additional interchange off of Interstate 40 to facilitate access to the park, as well as a spur from the Grand Canyon Railway leading to the park. The park would likely be open nine months out of the year and employ a couple thousand people to start with.
The Granger Group's initial plans for the theme park include Route 66, wild west, mining and Navajo Nation themed areas. Activities could include rides, interactive exhibits, animal encounters, stunt shows, gold panning, archery, rock climbing, kayaking, ziplining, mountain biking, and hot air balloon rides.
The Granger Group is currently conducting a feasibility study for the park, which should be complete at the end of April. During the month of May, the group plans to refine the scope of the project. From there the group will work on finding an operator for the park, such as Six Flags, Disney and Sea World. After that, the group will create design drawings and take out bonds. The group hopes to start construction in April of 2016 and finish in September of 2017.
"This is an aggressive schedule, and we know this is an aggressive schedule," Markvluwer said. "We're very excited for the opportunity, and we want to get this moving as quickly as possible."
After Granger and Markvluwer made their presentation, they fielded questions from Williams City Council members and the audience.
Councilman Lee Payne asked how the developers would work to preserve the historic downtown area.
"People have worked years and years to make this downtown a cool little spot that people travel from all over the world to come check out being that they like the small town atmosphere," he said.
Markvluwer said the group would work with the chosen park operator to develop plans that the community supported.
When Mayor John Moore asked the developers how they would help the city with infrastructure, especially in light of the city's ongoing water crisis, Granger said the company would have to find the right consultants to determine would be needed and then go from there.
"We're not here to say that the water issue is going to work out automatically," Granger said. "We understand that there's challenges and we'll work through that. We will get the right study work done, we're going to figure out water issue and we will solve it. At the onset we realize that this is not a project that's going to be a walk in the park."
Moore said that the theme park development would create additional needs within the city in addition to water.
"While you're working on a theme park we'll have to be working with somebody else on housing and all that type of stuff," he said. "It's a big undertaking. I'm sure that as we get into things there's going to be a lot more questions."
