Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Bye-Bye, Dubai
Another sign of the times:
Too bad. I was sorta hoping Nakheel might be a possible "white knight" for Busch Entertainment.
One positive note:
Busch Entertainment Corp., owner of SeaWorld and other theme parks, has shelved plans to build four parks in Dubai, making the project the Middle Eastern state's latest casualty amid the international credit freeze.
Worlds of Discovery was announced just a year ago with a media spectacle that included performing killer whales and renderings of the parks on a man-made island shaped like SeaWorld's signature Shamu. Busch Entertainment President Jim Atchison touted it as a "momentous occasion" and a chance to put the Busch brands on a "true global stage."
...
Busch and partner Nakheel PJSC, a state-backed real-estate company and leading developer in Dubai, agreed last month to suspend work because of worsening financial conditions. The two companies will reassess the project sometime this summer.
Too bad. I was sorta hoping Nakheel might be a possible "white knight" for Busch Entertainment.
One positive note:
The announcement comes as a number of projects planned for Dubai appear to be halted, though a Universal Parks & Resorts spokesman said Universal's Dubailand park is still a go and scheduled to open in 2012, two years later than the opening targeted when the park was announced in 2007.
Labels: anheuser busch seaworld orlando, dubai, universal, worlds of discovery
