June 3, 1999
New York, NY -- Ogden Corporation announced Monday that its Entertainment group has acquired Castle Amusement Park in Riverside, California. Under the agreement, Ogden acquires all the assets associated with Castle Amusement Park, including its intellectual property, land, improvements, buildings, rides, and inventories. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Castle Amusement Park, built in 1976 and located on approximately 22 acres, was designed to be the ultimate family entertainment park. It combines two separate leisure concepts into one facility - offering 30 amusement rides, including some of America's classics, complemented by a year-round entertainment center that features four 18-hole miniature golf courses, as well as go-carts and state-of-the-art arcades.
R. Richard Ablon, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ogden Corporation said, "This park has enjoyed a strong family following from the Riverside and Irvine communities, drawing over 600,000 patrons during 1998." Mr. Ablon added, "We intend to explore ways to improve the overall utilization of the park by adding certain attractions including a water park component. In addition, the park's close proximity to Ogden's numerous entertainment venues will allow us to take advantage of cross-promotional opportunities."
Castle Amusement Park represents Ogden's fifth acquisition since the start of 1999. To date, Ogden has acquired the following water parks in the United States: Wet 'n Wild (Las Vegas, Nevada); Emerald Pointe Water Park (Greensboro, North Carolina); Raging Waters (San Jose, California); and Raging Waters (San Dimas, California). Of these water parks, Raging Waters (San Dimas), Wet 'n Wild and Emerald Pointe are ranked fifth, tenth and twelfth in the United States, respectively, by attendance.
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