UPDATED: Theme Park Company Buys Magic Springs & Crystal Falls in Hot Springs

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UPDATED: Theme Park Company Buys Magic Springs & Crystal Falls in Hot Springs

by Arkansas Business Staff on Tuesday, Jun. 10, 2008 7:09 am

Magic Springs' general manager, Dan Aylward, will remain at the park, according to its new owners.

Investment in the park has totaled about $50 million. Industrial development revenue bonds have provided about $14 million, and Themeparks LLC provided the remaining $35 million, which includes the $1.5 million purchase price and about $14 million in initial investment by Themeparks.

Additions have included many rides, but the management team has also built two other draws: the Crystal Falls water park and a concert venue called Timberwood Amphitheater.

Themeparks LLC is owned by Ed Hart and four passive investors. The group bought Magic Springs in 1999. The group sold the Magic Springs property last year to a real estate investment company in Florida for $20 million, according to SEC records. The deal is a sale-leaseback, with Magic Springs Development Co. still operating the park.

The lease was for 20 years, with options allowing Magic Springs to extend the lease for another 20. The sale price roughly equals the original purchase price, Hart told Arkansas Business in March, but he would not give specifics. Hart said the sale was done to increase capital investment and separate himself and the other investors from the park's day-to-day management.

(With reporting by Jamie Walden.)