Hardly the biggest revelation, but UK Rides has announced on behalf of Camelot, Knightmare.
The long awaited announcement confirms that the park have bought and are building BMRX, the Bavarian Mountain Railroad, relocated from Kobe Portopialand in Japan.
The ride is the biggest ever investment at Camelot, and photos on Theme Park Review show that there's a lot of work to be done - the trains in particular require quite a bit of TLC.
But BMRX is often considered one of the better Schwarzkopf coasters, and an ideal family coaster for Camelot. Of course, because this ride is second hand and not being built at Tussauds, don't expect to see much conversation on the forums, but it's important that readers here support Schwarzkopfs, as they're becoming an increasingly difficult coaster to find, what with the Black Hole at Alton Towers closing and the removal of two coasters at Flamingo Land.
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To everybody's surprise, Blackpool's bid for a super casino, the first and only in the UK, was turned down. We look at the casino bid, and what problems the resort - and pleasure beach - could face:
The casino resort
The casino resort would have regenerated the seafront and the area behind it with a series of glass pavilions housing not only the country's only 'regional casino' but entertainment venues, restaurants and bars.
Arguments for
Blackpool has one of the highest suicide rates in the country, has the highest drink-related deaths in the country and has a high rate of unemployment and poverty. This, along with the ailing visitor numbers, was Blackpool Council's argument for the regional casino.
Arguments against
Many will be happy that the resort lost out, locals included. Coral Island, for example, vowed to sue the government should the bid have been successful as the casino would have been an expropriation of their assets.
The tourism problem
Currently, many hotels and guest houses have average occupancies of 25% (source: Blackpool Council website) which is clearly unsustainable. Because of cheap flights abroad, people are flying elsewhere for fun weekends away. Blackpool's reliance on existing casinos, bars and the Pleasure Beach which has seen little large-scale investment (in terms of rides) has done little to reverse the trend. Less than 20 years ago, visitor numbers were 18m, last year there were just under 10m.
The implications
The casino promised to bring a 400% increase to the economy and 10m extra visitors over 15 years. Currently visitor numbers drop on average 2% each year.
- Promised investment of around 2bn from the private sector will now not arrive
- Many hotel operators, including Hilton, are likely to drop their plans to build in Blackpool due to the failed bid
- Plans to overhaul the Blackpool Tower will be dropped
- Increased liklihood that guesthouses and businesses will pull out of Blackpool having put off decision making until after the casino bid result
Plan B?
There doesn't really seem to be one. Blackpool Council's site says in reply to the question: "What will Blackpool have to do to reverse its decline" that they will be lobbying the government to change the panel's decision.
Regeneration elsewhere
There are a few regeneration projects ongoing, but they're mainly only of local interest:
- A redevelopment of Stanley Park
- A new sea wall
- The Peoples' Playground, a year-round 'urban park'
- Continued investment in Blackpool International airport
- Extension to the existing Houndshill Shopping Centre
(source: Blackpool Council website)
Is this a done deal?
No. This is the Casino Advisory Panel's recommendation. But there has to be a lot of opposition to the decision for it to be reconsidered. If Manchester do get the super casino, it will be until the next parliment at least when the government consider whether more super casinos will open.
The Pleasure Beach
This is the real reason we're reporting this, as I'm sure you worked out.
Blackpool and the Pleasure Beach have a heart-and-brain relationship with each other where neither can really co-exist without the other.
A lot of expectations were riding on the fact that Blackpool were a dead cert to receive the super casino, and it's likely that although worst-case scenario plans have been drawn up, the success of the park relied on the casino drawing visitors to Blackpool.
Having not received the go-ahead for a super casino, Blackpool will also not be considered for the 16 'large' and 'small' casinos, so will lag far, far behind the other succesful towns and cities.
With Pleasure Beach Blackpool being a city park, many people pop in while on stag or hen weekends, and with many of these people now going abroad and many locals being impoverished, the Pleasure Beach is struggling to find visitors.
Visitor numbers have been in decline, sources would suggest they're falling faster than the main resort, and while Infusion will tide the park over, without an influx of visitors it leaves them in a tricky position - they need to invest in an icon ride, but they need visitors and a well-thought out masterplan and not to make the same mistake as the council and put all their eggs in one basket. Spending tens of millions on a new ride that might not necessarily do the trick could leave the park in a worse predicament.
Like the rest of the resort, the park have been trying to market themselves as a classier destination with a lot of investment, but without money coming in it is difficult to throw money back into the park desptie the chorus of enthusiasts' insistence to the contrary.
We suspect that the council's evident lack of get-out clause will leave the park in a very poor position.
See also:
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Today the Casino Advisory Panel announced that 16-1 outsider Manchester would host the first super casino in the UK.
Beating both Blackpool and Greenwich, the final decision came as a shock to many and a blow to ailing Blackpool.
Blackpool Council have spent a lot of time and money improving the seafront while the casino site, inland, would lure people to Blackpool that might otherwise go abroad for their high jinx.
Blackpool Council's Chairman, Steve Weaver, said he was 'surprised and hugely disappointed' with the choice saying that the future for the town was 'uncertain'. Visitor numbers have been in steady decline now for several years despite efforts to move the resort on from a reputation for being crass and tacky.
Blackpool has relied heavily on the success of the bid, something that the Casino Advisory Panel said was a mistake. They suggested that few social benefits would come from the casino due to its dependence on visitors.
It seems strange to award Manchester the super casino over Blackpool, as by comparison Blackpool is far more impoverished and in need of regeneration than Manchester. With the Olympics in 2012, it was no surprise that London wasn't successful, but while you can disagree with the Casino Advisory Panel's final decision, the fact that they say Blackpool has perhaps relied too heavily on receiving a casino perhaps rings true.
Unfortunately for Blackpool, their bid for a super casino means that they have not been considered for either the 'large' or 'small' casinos, and will have to wait until at least the next parliment to re-apply for a super casino.
It will be interesting to see how Blackpool will next attempt to turn around the declining tourism numbers because Blackpool's problems are also the Pleasure Beach's problems.
See also:
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