Louisville, KY - The future of Kentucky Kingdom is up in the air once again, as Business First reported that officials of the Louisville-Jefferson County Metro Government informed Kentucky Kingdom owner Ed Hart that the city wouldn’t fun the project. Back in early March, we reported that the Kentucky Kingdom Redevelopment Company, the group attempting to reopen the park with Ed Hart, was requesting a $50 million tax-exempt bond to help fund and re-open the park. The original plan was then to spend $30 on new rides and attractions and doubling the size of the water park, and the remaining $20 million restoring the rides and facilities which have gone unused since the park closed.

The original plan was scraped when the Kentucky General Assembly declined to even consider the $50 million bond issue, so he scaled back. In the plan which he submitted recently to the Louisville Metro Government, he asked for $20 million in bonds to cover the cost of refurbishing the park to reopen it next year, putting the new attractions and major upgrades on hold. His hope was then to seek an additional bond from the General Assembly in 2012. Ed Hart told Bussiness First that the city’s decision came as “a big disappointment.” But just as he said back in March, if the bond was rejected, he and his associates would revisit their plans and find a way to move forward, and that is exactly what he plans to do.

The deputy director of communications for Mayor Greg Fischer told Business First that the bond would be “a little too much risk for the city at this time” and that they would be “put on the hook for the bonds if (park revenue) projections weren’t met.” He added that he and the city were still committed to helping get the park open because of its importance to tourism, the community, and employment.

The park first closed back in February 2010 when Six Flags walked away from its lease on the Kentucky Fair grounds, which owns part of the property that the park is located on. Hopes with the original plan were to add a new major roller coaster, expand the water park, and reopen T2 and the Twisted Twins roller coasters. With the $20 million bond at least, the park was hoping to add several smaller attractions, making limited upgrades to the water park, and refurbishing the existing rides. The new goal now seems to be to approach the Kentucky General Assembly again in 2012 seeking the original $50 million bond, and aim to have the park open by 2013 with its original, albeit delayed, plan.