DALLAS A proposal to use up to $1 billion of revenue bonds for a themed amusement park to attract Grand Canyon visitors will be considered Thursday by the Arizona Senate Finance Committee.
HB 2681 is co-sponsored by Rep. John B. Nelson, R-Phoenix, and Senate President Ken Bennett, R-Phoenix. It would establish an amusement park district that would include a 1,000-acre amusement park in Williams, located about 25 miles west of Flagstaff on the road to the Grand Canyon National Park, and a separate park at a 60-acre site in western Phoenix.
The district, which would be overseen by a board consisting of three Coconino County supervisors and two Phoenix city council members, would be able to levy a 9% special sales tax on activities within the district. The tax would be in addition to local and state sales taxes, for a total sales tax within the district of 17%.
The special sales tax would support up to $1 billion in 30-year bonds for on- and offsite infrastructure needed at the two parks. Proponents say the price tag for infrastructure at Williams is about $700 million, with $300 million for the Phoenix site.
Total cost of the projects is estimated at $3 billion.
Williams is very much a rural site, said Jay Hiller, a spokesman for Grand Canyon-Northland Amusements & Entertainment, the group of investors pushing the effort through the legislature. That means you need infrastructure for everything roads, streets, parking lots, water lines, sewer lines, treatment facilities, electricity.
Hiller said several economic feasibility studies found that the park near the Grand Canyon and the one in Phoenix are sound ideas. He said the parks, which will be built on land that is currently economically unproductive, would bring in between $75 million and $150 million in tax revenue to the state, not counting the special sales tax.
Most of the site will be domed, he said, which will enable the park to be operated 10 months a year and maintained during the other two months. The park will include hotels and a major entertainment facility, Hiller said.
The park in Williams, which is about 65 miles south of the Grand Canyon, would include an interactive Western town with period rides and live entertainment, a strip of shops to re-create the old Route 66 that passed through the town, along with roller coasters, bumper cars, and a Navajo learning center.
Proponents hope the Williams park, with two on-site hotels and an RV park, can attract some of the 8 million visitors who come through the small town every year on Interstate 40 on their way to the Grand Canyon or points further west.
Its a very beautiful area, Hiller said. It is high, about 7,000 feet above sea level, so it is cooler than much of the state. And it is going to be built in a relatively undeveloped area of the state. This is a very important project for the state of Arizona.
Grand Canyon-Northland is working with the Navajo Nation to acquire the 1,000 acres near Williams needed for the park. The U.S. Forest Service currently owns the land, but the investors hope to swap the Williams site for some tribal-owned land being sought by the Forestry Service. The land for the park in Phoenix is owned by the city.
The company has a letter of intent from media company Clear Channel, pledging to bring its marketing prowess to the project. Clear Channel currently operates Cricket Pavilion in Phoenix, an entertainment complex owned by the city that will be adjacent to the proposed new park.
The Phoenix park will include an arcade, rides, and two roller coasters.
