08 Nov 2018
US$250m water park next to Mall of America planned for Minneapolis
BY Luke Cloherty
Plans for what could become North America’s largest water park have been revealed for a plot next to the world-famous Mall of America (MOA) shopping centre and theme park in Bloomington, Minneapolis.
Working together with City of Bloomington, Triple Five, the mall’s ownership group, has laid out plans for a 250,000sq ft (23,226sq m) indoor facility with a transparent roof that would be a "tropical paradise throughout the year", according to Dan Jasper, VP of communications for MOA.
The plans, which also include space for a hotel, outline that the water park would be run by a separate non-profit organisation, which would lend money for its construction, and would "bear no burden to taxpayers".
The land on which it is to be built is owned by Triple Five. That land would be leased by the City of Bloomington and subleased to the nonprofit, which would then operate the park for 30 years.
Triple Five expects ticket sales to pay for operation costs and the project’s debt, with a caveat that, if sales are low, the city could structure a new sales tax regime on Mall of America customers to cover the shortfall.
Speaking on the slightly complicated structure of the deal, Bloomington mayor Gene Winstead said: "It looks like we found a viable solution."
Meanwhile, the city’s Port Authority administrator Schane Rudlang confidently added: "We wouldn’t be bringing this to the council and Port Authority if we thought it wasn’t going to be a success."
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