Jb85
TS Member
Didn't Disney end up in Paris after what was affectively a bidding process from multiple countries?
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Potential New Universal UK Park
- Thread starter Craig
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George W
TS Member
You'd imagine a universal park would get some pretty big government backing maybe not so much if green party got in but when they were going to in the 90's that one got approved I believe and I think planning permission has always been a ball ache if I'm not wrong.
If they were 100% serious this time I could see it getting approved if they pick a well thought out plot of land, allegedly they've already purchased the land for like 271 million which that price I would imagine it would be closer to London.
Craig
TS Administrator
Let's not get too carried away (who am I kidding, it'll happen regardless), but don't get caught up on the figure of $271 million that's mentioned in Comcast's wider accounts, as they're not necessarily related to this "NVUL" rumour. That could be against say 15 different parcels of land in the states for these Texas style parks, and they might end up only one of those and selling the rest on at a later date. We know from the past that once landowners get a sniff of a big name being involved and prices skyrocket. So most large companies such as Universal will hedge their bets when they're planning thing long into the future - they can afford to after all.
Back to the UK, I'm no doubt just repeating my London Resort thoughts, so I'm not going to go into detail based on scant rumours. But London wise, I still don't see anything being built, particularly south of the river. Living costs are far too high to make anything remotely profitable, and the costs and travel time for most to get there is prohibitive. If existing theme parks struggle to retain staff - I can't see how a brand new one can do so in the longer term too.
As for elsewhere in the UK? It's a similar story in all honesty. The theme park would have to only form part of the development. Anything Universal sized would require substantial investment in staff accommodation and transport links. With the sheer number of planning hurdles which would need to be navigated on top, I honestly see the end of the decade as overly keen even if they were able to secure the substantial funding required.
Back to the UK, I'm no doubt just repeating my London Resort thoughts, so I'm not going to go into detail based on scant rumours. But London wise, I still don't see anything being built, particularly south of the river. Living costs are far too high to make anything remotely profitable, and the costs and travel time for most to get there is prohibitive. If existing theme parks struggle to retain staff - I can't see how a brand new one can do so in the longer term too.
As for elsewhere in the UK? It's a similar story in all honesty. The theme park would have to only form part of the development. Anything Universal sized would require substantial investment in staff accommodation and transport links. With the sheer number of planning hurdles which would need to be navigated on top, I honestly see the end of the decade as overly keen even if they were able to secure the substantial funding required.
Matt N
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For what it’s worth, the land for the Texas park specifically was confirmed to already have been purchased prior to the announcement, so the $271m is not related to that.
Based on that, I’d guess that it’s to do with something we don’t know about, even if that something isn’t in the UK.
Craig
TS Administrator
Yes, my suggestion was for all we know they could have purchased a load of different parcels of land for further Texas style parks - not for Texas itself. My post was more aimed at others suggesting that $271m indicates one single purchase of land in say London when it could be something completely different.
In short, I'm just saying don't get carried away seeing a big number and thinking it's for one project
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Matt N
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Ah, sorry… I missed the “style” bit of your post there!Yes, my suggestion was for all we know they could have purchased a load of different parcels of land for further Texas style parks - not for Texas itself. My post was more aimed at others suggesting that $271m indicates one single purchase of land in say London when it could be something completely different.
In short, I'm just saying don't get carried away seeing a big number and thinking it's for one project
That would also make sense. Although there’s nothing to say that either idea is necessarily more or less likely than the other, in my view.
Ted
TS Member
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I'm not gonna hold my breath, but building a Universal theme park in Britain seems like a great idea
The UK has a rich film history and a lot of American films, Universal including, are also incredibly well loved over here. The IP is strong and much stronger than what Paramount has to offer and both of the current parks in Florida are popular with British tourists.
London makes a lot of sense from a tourist/population perspective and I think that's the ideal place they would want to build a park. Unless the land was significantly cheaper for what you would get, I couldn't see it being built in the Midlands or North based on that alone.
With that in mind though, I still think buying PA is the best thing to do if Universal ever wanted to set foot in Europe. The climate is similar, the flights from most parts of Europe are cheap, it's already a touristy area, and the park is there! Needs those bells and whistles that Universal have
The UK has a rich film history and a lot of American films, Universal including, are also incredibly well loved over here. The IP is strong and much stronger than what Paramount has to offer and both of the current parks in Florida are popular with British tourists.
London makes a lot of sense from a tourist/population perspective and I think that's the ideal place they would want to build a park. Unless the land was significantly cheaper for what you would get, I couldn't see it being built in the Midlands or North based on that alone.
With that in mind though, I still think buying PA is the best thing to do if Universal ever wanted to set foot in Europe. The climate is similar, the flights from most parts of Europe are cheap, it's already a touristy area, and the park is there! Needs those bells and whistles that Universal have
Matt N
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This could have been mentioned already, but for all that is supposedly working against the UK, the one thing worth considering is that the government may have negotiated some kind of incentives with Universal to cancel out some of the UK’s negatives and make the country a compelling proposition to invest in.
It wouldn’t be unheard of by any means. When Universal last attempted to come to the UK in the late 1980s, Margaret Thatcher’s government negotiated some very strong incentives to try and get Universal to come here. Similar also happened with the likes of Disneyland Paris (albeit with France instead of the UK, of course).
I definitely wouldn’t be overly surprised if Rishi Sunak’s government worked out some kind of incentives with Universal. With Comcast’s resources, they would certainly have more leverage than something like the London Resort, and even the London Resort managed to get itself declared a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project to bypass regular planning laws. Also, Conservative governments are all for big business and attracting wealthy investors to the UK, and this particular Conservative government is not in the best situation. From a political strategy point of view, I imagine that securing a substantial investment into the UK from a big company would be something that Sunak et al would be absolutely thrilled with in the run up to an election…
It wouldn’t be unheard of by any means. When Universal last attempted to come to the UK in the late 1980s, Margaret Thatcher’s government negotiated some very strong incentives to try and get Universal to come here. Similar also happened with the likes of Disneyland Paris (albeit with France instead of the UK, of course).
I definitely wouldn’t be overly surprised if Rishi Sunak’s government worked out some kind of incentives with Universal. With Comcast’s resources, they would certainly have more leverage than something like the London Resort, and even the London Resort managed to get itself declared a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project to bypass regular planning laws. Also, Conservative governments are all for big business and attracting wealthy investors to the UK, and this particular Conservative government is not in the best situation. From a political strategy point of view, I imagine that securing a substantial investment into the UK from a big company would be something that Sunak et al would be absolutely thrilled with in the run up to an election…
Craig
TS Administrator
The project would need to be substantially further on from the "rumour" stage to be anywhere near getting government support at the moment. Remember, we're generally expected to change to a Labour government in the next year or so and I'd find it highly unlikely that the government would be agreeing to such a deal at the moment, and likewise a private company would be going for such a deal on account of it being pulled out from under them under a new government.
In terms of NSIP, this was granted to London Resort in May 2014 following the public announcement for the project back in October 2012. Considering that timeline, I'd find it highly unlikely to see anything crop up in the short time this government likely has left. It's important not to forget the kick off designating London Resort as an NSIP caused too - I doubt we'd see a theme park project designated as one in future again.
I'm not saying the project is impossible, but just like London Resort it's important to stay grounded in realism based on the information available so far.
In terms of NSIP, this was granted to London Resort in May 2014 following the public announcement for the project back in October 2012. Considering that timeline, I'd find it highly unlikely to see anything crop up in the short time this government likely has left. It's important not to forget the kick off designating London Resort as an NSIP caused too - I doubt we'd see a theme park project designated as one in future again.
I'm not saying the project is impossible, but just like London Resort it's important to stay grounded in realism based on the information available so far.
We're talking about the same government that looked into building a wave machine in the channel and gave a a £14 million ferry contract to someone that had no boats. A big new theme park is exactly the sort of thing they'd like to support. But it won't happen? All the better. Blame the next government.
Ted
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Much of the new stuff was filmed over here too so nothing has changed!
Harv
TS Member
Exciting! Universal would be a great fit for the UK. I think some people are significantly underestimating how well it could perform, based on the fact that Merlin's parks haven't flourished into international destinations.
Universal has massive IPs, brand equity, and sums of cash to pull this off (if they decide to). Millions of people in the UK alone - especially the North and Scotland - would not travel for hours to ride Colossus or Stealth in Surrey, but wouldn't hesitate to do just that to visit a theme park with Harry Potter and Super Mario. The reaction from international tourists would be similar.
Merlin isn't even in the same league as Universal (or Disney) in terms of the resources and expertise that they can allocate to a project like this. Yes, Merlin is a bit company, and yes, the UK has horrendous planning processes. But anyone following the construction of Epic Universe knows that Universal is capable of planning and executing megaprojects (even within saturated markets) on a scale unlike anything Merlin could.
If this park was at least partially indoors (and I believe it would be, to facilitate 365 opening), I 100% expect that the attendance numbers would be there to support this.
Universal has massive IPs, brand equity, and sums of cash to pull this off (if they decide to). Millions of people in the UK alone - especially the North and Scotland - would not travel for hours to ride Colossus or Stealth in Surrey, but wouldn't hesitate to do just that to visit a theme park with Harry Potter and Super Mario. The reaction from international tourists would be similar.
Merlin isn't even in the same league as Universal (or Disney) in terms of the resources and expertise that they can allocate to a project like this. Yes, Merlin is a bit company, and yes, the UK has horrendous planning processes. But anyone following the construction of Epic Universe knows that Universal is capable of planning and executing megaprojects (even within saturated markets) on a scale unlike anything Merlin could.
If this park was at least partially indoors (and I believe it would be, to facilitate 365 opening), I 100% expect that the attendance numbers would be there to support this.
jon81uk
TS Member
Large parts of the Florida studios park are indoors due to the issue with thunderstorms and similar and the nature of the studio theme pushes towards dark rides, so I would expect any new park to use a lot of indoor attractions too.
Bowser
TS Member
Universal already owned PortAventura once, why didn't they turn it into a Universal park then? Why did they sell it?
At this point feels like it would be as much work to turn it into a proper branded Universal park as starting fresh.
Does make sense they would want to expand into Europe though and having one in the UK would be amazing. Would also force Merlin to really up their game which can only be a good thing.
Alas i'll probably be too old to enjoy it by the time it does become a reality. If it becomes a reality.
James
TS Founding Member
Universal only had a 40-50% stake in PortAventura. The park was running at a loss in the 2000s and had lower visitor numbers than expected, so they likely jumped what was/felt like a sinking ship at the time.
Seeing something other than Merlin dominate the UK would be great, but I remain optimistic. Look at The London Resort and how long it has dragged on with nothing to show. I feel it makes more sense for Universal to acquire PortAventura; it's an existing park with good transport links, sits within a huge tourist area, and can be marketed to have a wide appeal across Europe.
Seeing something other than Merlin dominate the UK would be great, but I remain optimistic. Look at The London Resort and how long it has dragged on with nothing to show. I feel it makes more sense for Universal to acquire PortAventura; it's an existing park with good transport links, sits within a huge tourist area, and can be marketed to have a wide appeal across Europe.