For over fifty years, Bell's Amusement Park was a Tulsa icon and family fun destination for people from all over the state.  Many of us have treasured memories of our times at Bell's during its glory days, and most of us are giddy with excitement about the announcement that the Bell family has purchased 102 acres in one of Tulsa’s suburbs and plans to build a bigger, better park complex than the original 10.2 acre park that closed more than fifteen years ago.  While this new attraction is a welcome addition to the City of Broken Arrow, the proposed location is not only less than ideal for the surrounding community, but it could even hinder the park's operations.  And for many community members, building an amusement park there would actually be detrimental.

Why would anyone be against such a great opportunity for Broken Arrow?  The opposition is NOT about bringing Bell's to BA!  The development would bring tourists, which could lead to more hotels, restaurants, retailers, etc., all of which are great for the city.  But an amusement park, with the hotels and other tourist attractions it would bring, simply does not belong in a residential and retirement area already established in a relaxed part of a suburb.  The noise, traffic, and view obstruction caused by an amusement park is not only a daily nuisance to nearby residents but can also cause a drastic decline in their property values.  Developers seeking to build primary-residence neighborhoods and retirement communities do not choose areas around existing amusement parks, so why would an amusement park be built in the middle of an existing residential and retirement community?

Isn’t the proposed location of 71st/Kenosha and the Creek Turnpike in a remote area?  Not at all!  Within a 2-mile radius, there are more than 15 neighborhoods, apartments, subdivisions, and retirement villages already established or being developed, as well as 6 public PreK-12 schools.  And of all these, at least 5 are less than half a mile away.  That’s almost 500 existing homes, not including an entire retirement village currently in construction, that are close enough to see and/or hear the park daily!

If people don’t want to live nearby, why don’t they just move?  Many of them will.  Some have already started packing based solely on the possibility that the complex will be built!  Very few people, if any, want to live near an amusement park.  Not only will that make it harder for them to sell their houses, but it will also erode the property values of homes in the area.  An increase in houses on the market in the area, combined with fewer interested buyers, leads to lower selling prices.  That leaves many people in a position where they can’t sell because they recently purchased or refinanced their home before the value dropped, and they could even end up stuck owing more on their house than it’s worth.  This is especially critical for people who have spent their retirement funds or their nest egg to purchase their “forever home,” which is very common for the area.  There are several homes in the area that have belonged to the same family through multiple generations, and even more that have had the same owners for 10, 20, even 30+ years.  For most of them, the thought of moving when they had planned to stay in the same home for the rest of their lives is not only heartbreaking but can also be panic inducing.

But, doesn’t BA need more entertainment places like this?  Absolutely!  But building the new park, which potentially covers an area 10 times the size of the original park, so close to existing neighborhoods will almost certainly lead to similar operating restrictions and expansion limitations that the original park faced.  To avoid these types of conflicts and restrictions, building as far away from residential areas as possible should be the first priority for an amusement park developer.  There are other areas in Broken Arrow along highways and turnpikes - even the same turnpike - that do not have established neighborhoods and would be prime spots for tourism hub development.  These areas are best suited for an amusement park, so that guests can ride the loudest rides that the owners can build and for as late as the park can stay open.

If an amusement park's location is not ideal for the surrounding community, then it is also not ideal for the business.  Please #BAgoodNeighbor, and DON'T build Bell's Amusement Park next to neighborhoods AGAIN!