Koch family to operate Kentucky Kingdom

By | February 23, 2012

On Thursday, February 23, the Kentucky State Fair Board approved a proposal by Holiday World’s Koch family to operate the shuttered Kentucky Kingdom Theme Park. The new park, named Bluegrass Boardwalk, is expected to open in May 2013. The Koch family has already secured a website and Facebook page under the Bluegrass Boardwalk name. Contrary to earlier speculation by local media, the plan is to open the entire park, not just the waterpark. A new company, Bluegrass Boardwalk Inc. was formed by Holiday World president Dan Koch, his sister Natalie Koch, their cousin Kathy Kamp, and her husband, Michael Kamp, who is a General Manager at Holiday World.

“We’re going to make that park shine out there,” said Dan Koch, adding “We’re going to bring to Louisville the culture and guest experience people have at Holiday World. We bring with us a core value of understanding families.”

The Bluegrass Boardwalk organization said they will apply for state tax incentives but will not ask the city or state for funding. Mayor Greg Fischer said as part of the deal the city won’t receive a payroll tax, but he approves of that, saying, “Well, if that’s what it takes to help them get it open, we do that for different deals from time to time that create jobs and help the community. So our goal is to keep this open and get people employed and get our community enjoying it.” The park is expected to generate 800 seasonal jobs and bring a number of full times jobs to the community.