Matching the hype, there’s no doubt that initial announcement of Delaware County’s potential “billion dollar amusement park” this past June was big news.
With occasional references to a possible cost of two billion dollars, Columbus Business First described Planet Oasis this way in June: “The capstone would be a 200,000-square-foot UltraStar Multi-tainment Center, featuring a movie theater, bowling alley, laser tag arena, arcade and a “uni-coaster,” a roller-coaster-type attraction reaching 150 to 200 feet.
Additional development would include a 160,000-square-foot indoor venue that could host soccer, lacrosse, basketball, rugby, football, field hockey and other sports year-round. The complex would be centered around a 15- to 20-acre salt water lake with sand beaches and a boardwalk connecting the multiple venues.[widgets_on_pages id=1]
The developers are also planning a conference center, at least 15 hotels with 4,000 to 5,000 rooms, six parking garages with at least 10,000 spaces, plus outparcels for retailers and restaurants. Land west of Galena Road could host a future mountain bike park as well.”
Six months later no construction has begun, several neighboring property owners have worked to stop the project, and the initial team has broken in two with one side bringing legal action against the other in the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas.
How big was the news? The story was the most read on Columbus Business First over the last twelve months, according to a recent post – even more than posts about Save the Crew, the Easton expansion, and other Columbus development.
Meanwhile, the case in Common Pleas Court continues to chug along slowly, with issues and questions of service of process take center stage to date.
