Fantasy is reality

Park Fantasia SA is the company behind the dream. It is currently backed by anonymous international investors and managed by Marcin Bich, a Polish businessman, with a US amusement park specialist William Kelly drafted in to oversee park operations. To discover more about the project Eurobuild met Tomasz Lotz, the firm's marketing director. Park Fantasia SA is the owner of the 180ha plot, and the only aid offered by the Gmina of Przybiernów was the cost of connecting the park to the sewerage network. When applying for permission to build, the company pledged to hire local labour and firms whenever possible. It is indeed local contractors who are currently preparing the ground, and building the car park, to be followed by national companies who will construct the site's buildings. International specialists are required for the park's rides.

Welcome to the jungle

The site will be divided into separate "villages", each of which will contain the full range of facilities, though they will be adapted to suit the theme of the village. In the first phase (costing PLN 312 mln and to be completed by June 2005) the villages will be: 'fantasy', 20,000 leagues under the sea, the jungle, wild west and lakeside. Mr Lotz revealed that one section, operated under license, will depict a well known Polish character. However, due to the continuing negotiations he was unable to reveal its identity. Away from the fun, the development provides serious business opportunities for other companies too. On-site there will be 37 restaurants and cafes open in the first year, with a target of 70 when all phases of the park have been opened. Park Fantasia, however will not operate them, nor the retail outlets that will be found in all of the themed villages. Mr Lotz said, "We are in the business of running a park. We will leave other activities to the specialist." One such tenant will be the "Rockers Pub" which already exists in Szczecin. It will operate a wild west style bar of 1,500 sqm. Off-site, 100 ha have been set aside for complementary facilities including leisure centres and hotels. Mr. Lotz said that offering overnight accommodation would be crucial in order to attract many clients. "There will be something for all budgets, from three stars, down to bungalows available for 30 zł per person. We are currently negotiating with German hotel operators as well as an Austrian and Polish firm." It isn't all about hotels though. "The management is open to all proposals regarding use of the land," though Mr Lotz adds, "as long as it fits the park's image and complements our business rather than competes with us."

Financial puzzle

The specifics regarding the economics of the project are currently unclear. Park Fantasia SA is unwilling to release details about the current investors, or the company's financial predictions, until a prospectus is released for the first issue of corporate bonds which was to raise up to PLN 30 mln and was planned for June 2004. However, as Eurobuild went to press, the schedule had slipped, and the Polish Securities Exchange Commission hadn't yet received a prospectus for approval. When finally Park Fantasia does approach the market for funds, investors are likely to have EuroDisney in mind. The Parisian park which boasts over 12 mln visitors per year, has just had to restructure its EUR 2.4 bln of debt. Here Mr Tomasz Lotz is confident, "Disney's mistake was to invest too much right at the beginning. The cost of financing all that debt is too great. We have decided to keep our debt lower by leasing equipment." Running a theme park is expensive, and 60 pct of Park Fantasia's costs are fixed in the form of the equipment, which of course is indispensable if it is to be a hit. Eurobuild contacted a major US manufacturer of roller coasters and "white knuckle" equipment. Star attractions such as vertical rocket ride sending thrill-seekers 50 metres upwards at 65 km/h costs around USD 1 mln to purchase. A steel roller coaster would require an investment of between USD 2.5 mln to USD 10 mln, depending size and sophistication.

Planes, trains and automobiles

On the revenue side Mr Lotz smiles and tells us that he is not just going to sit and wait for people to come. "The target is 3,6 mln visitors per year, which would class us as a medium size theme park," he explained. Though a large proportion of customers will be day-trippers (e.g. Berlin is only 140 km away), management is counting on synergies with the region as a whole. For example the seaside town of Międzyzdroje is barely a half-hour drive away. He is also targeting foreign holidaymakers visiting the region. "We have negotiated with ferry companies to offer packages to Scandinavian visitors. We already have 350,000 guaranteed sales!" Mr. Lotz raised the possibility of an adventurous strategy whereby passengers arriving by low cost airlines from Warsaw would be shuttled by bus to the park from the local Goleniów airport. Similarly visitors could be transferred from the local railway station at Rokita, 2 km away. Another important market will be school parties and corporate training awaydays. "We will have a conference hall, which is something that is missing in Szczecin, and it could be used for corporate events. The capacity of the hall will be 500 people, though we are considering reducing the size of the adjacent restaurant to increase this to 1000." Unlike EuroDisney or parks in Spain, Park Fantasia will not have the good fortune to be able to operate all-year-round. The park will be open from the beginning of April to the end of October. However, Mr Lotz says that during planning they used conservative estimates. This is the first theme park in Poland and he claims that the closest competitor is 600 km away at Europa Park on the German border with France. He feels sure that Park Fantasia will be successful. "It's working all over Europe, and all over the world. Why not here?"