In January, Dolly Parton appeared at a press conference to announce the park with Gaylord CEO Colin Reed, Gov. Bill Haslam and Mayor Karl Dean. Photo courtesy Gaylord
Dolly Parton has pulled the plug on a $50 million theme park that was announced earlier this year. She blames the partner in the joint venture – Gaylord Entertainment – which has restructured since plans for the attraction were made public.
The 114-acre snow and play park was slated for a tract beside the Opryland Hotel.
In January, Parton described the partnership with Gaylord as a “marriage.”
“It’s when you kinda merge and go to live your life with somebody that you know you’re gonna spend years with, hopefully doing good things and being happy together.”
In a statement released Friday, Parton says – quote – “Gaylord makes decisions that they feel are good for their company and their stockholders and I have to make decisions based on what is best for me and the Dollywood Company.”
In writing, Parton also thanks the governor and mayor of Nashville who had committed millions in incentives for the project.
Starting Monday, Gaylord will have a new name – Ryman Hospitality Properties. And Marriott will begin running the company’s convention center hotels.
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