Bell's Amusement Park

Infobox Amusement park
name = Bell's Amusement Park


location = Tulsa
location2 = Oklahoma
location3 = United States flagicon|USA
opening_date = 1951
closing_date = 2006
season = March through September
rides = 17
coasters = 1 John Allen Wooden Out-and-Back
water_rides = 1 Log Flume, 2 Water Slides
owner = Robert Bell
homepage = http://www.teamled.com/bells This is the current website

Bell's Amusement Park was a small amusement park located in Tulsa's Expo Square, part of the Tulsa County Fairground. The park was founded in 1951 by Robert Bell with a small collection of rides and amusements including a three car choo-choo train and a Shetland pony ride. This would later grow into third generation controled family amusement tradition with over 50 rides and attractions.

The park was forced to relinquish its position at the Square at the end of the 2006 season when the county did not renew its lease. [cite news | title=Tulsa County seeks warrant after Bell's Amusement Park taxes go unpaid | date=2007-07-20 | publisher=World Publishing Co. | url =http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=070720_1__TheTu04740 | work=Tulsa World | accessdate = 2007-08-11] The reason given for the park's removal was nonviable business plans even though the 2006 season was the most successful the park had seen for years and expansion plans were underway. [cite news | title= Bell's Says Tulsa County Treating Them Unfairly | date=2006-10-11 | publisher=Griffin Communications, LLC | url=http://www.kotv.com/news/local/story/?id=114097 | work =KOTV | accessdate = 2007-08-11] The park paid $135,000 to the Expo in 2006 and a total of $12.5 million since 1951. [cite news | title= Bell's Amusement Park Lease Expires | date=2007-07-20 | publisher=Griffin Communications, LLC | url=http://kotv.com/news/local/story/?id=113930 | work =KOTV | accessdate = 2007-08-11]

The park has announced plans to move elsewhere, but as of fall 2007 the amusement park rides sit in a warehouse. [cite news | title=News On 6 Investigation: What Really Happened To Bell’s Amusement Park? | date=2007-08-30 | publisher=KOTV.com | url =http://kotv.com/news/topstory/?id=135092 | work=he News On 6 | accessdate = 2007-09-21] Many locations around Northeast-Oklahoma have been surveyed for the new home of Bell's, [cite news| url=http://kotv.com/news/topstory/?id=123435 | title=Amusement Park Icon Coming Down | publisher=KOTV | date=2007-03-25 | accessdate=2007-10-10] but as of November 2007 there has been no official word as to when an announcement will be made in regards to an official location for the park. Their website has been taken down and rumors are about that the park will not reopen.

Impact to the 2007 Tulsa State Fair

Following the close of Bell's, the 2007 Tulsa State Fair saw a 7% drop in attendance and a 29% hit on midway ticket sales. [Cite news | title=Fair Attendance Down, Preliminary Figures Show | date=2007-10-08 | publisher=Griffin Communications, LLC | url=http://www.kotv.com/news/local/story/?id=137542 | work =KOTV | accessdate = 2007-08-11] Vendors told the fair board that the board's decision not to renew Bell's lease is the reason for the drop. [Cite news | title=State Fair Revenue Down | date=2007-10-04 | publisher=Griffin Communications, LLC | url=http://kotv.com/news/local/story/?id=137322 | work =KOTV | accessdate = 2007-08-11] The Fairgrounds CEO said that they did not have any theories at the time to account for the drop. But some people have indicated that they boycotted the 2007 Tulsa State Fair in response to the county's decision. [cite news | title=Bell’s Amusement Park is gone, but the crowds remain at the Tulsa State Fair | date=2007-10-02 | publisher=World Publishing Co. | url =http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=071002_238_A11_spanc72425 | work=Tulsa World | accessdate = 2007-08-11] The midway for the Tulsa State Fair was provided by Jerry Murphy, Bell's main competitor. [Cite news | title=News On 6 Investigation: What Really Happened To Bell’s Amusement Park? | date=2007-08-30 | publisher=Griffin Communications, LLC | url=http://kotv.com/news/topstory/?id=135092 | work =KOTV | accessdate = 2007-08-30]

Wildcat roller coaster malfunction

On April 20, 1997, mechanical failures on the Wildcat roller coaster caused a car near the top of a chain hill to disengage and roll backwards, colliding with another car. The accident killed a fourteen-year-old and injured six others. [Cite press release | title=Labor Commissioner Issues Interim Report on Amusement Park Accident | publisher=Oklahoma Department of Labor | date=1997-07-03 | url=http://www.ok.gov/~okdol/archives/1997releases/pr070397.htm | accessdate=2006-08-31] The Wildcat was disassembled following the accident.

References

External links

*cite web|url=http://www.bellsfamilyfun.com |title=Bell's Amusement Park |accessdate=2007-08-11 |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070109171416/bellsfamilyfun.com/default.asp |archivedate=2006-08-21