Garden Grove OKs $17,500 Toward Theme Park Study

The City Council, acting as the Redevelopment Agency, has agreed to pay for half the cost of a study on the possibility of building a theme park in the city.

Council members last week voted 4 to 1 to allocate $17,500 for the preliminary study, which will be conducted by U.S. Entertainment Centers Inc. and its design partner, Battaglia and Associates.

Irvine-based Battaglia and Associates have designed theme parks in the Far East, including one in Seoul, South Korea, which City Councilman Ho Chung visited this year.

Chung said he was impressed with the Seoul theme park, called Lotte World, which features a 350-store shopping mall and a 500-room hotel.

A theme park in Garden Grove, possibly anchored by an international trade and cultural center, would be a boost to the local economy, Chung said.

Councilman Robert F. Dinsen opposed the proposal, saying the theme park could involve enormous costs that the city may not be able to afford.

But other council members said the study will help determine those costs.

Last year, representatives of Battaglia and Associates approached the city with the idea of building a theme park that included a card club. But city officials have rejected the card club idea and continue to insist it is not acceptable.