Initial plans to construct a 600-acre theme park and hotel complex about 50 km (31 miles) outside of Moscow were announced on Thursday.
The project involves a consortium that includes the California-based companies Gary Goddard Entertainment Design and ProFun Management Group as well as Moschanko Investment Group whose CEO Gennady Moshkovich, a Russian national that emigrated to the U.S., is the driving force behind the project.
More than US$2.5 billion is planned for investment in the project with 10-12 million visitors anticipated per year. Construction is planned to start in the summer of 2012 with the park opening in 2016, although both of those dates are contingent upon approval by Russian government agencies and finalization of investment negotiations. The theme park site is to be leased from the Russian government.
The complex will feature two hotels. One will be a 1,700-room, 5-star hotel with a VIP area and the other will be a 1,750-room mid-range waterpark resort.
In addition to a Hollywood studio-branded theme park and waterpark, the project is planned to include a park highlighting Russian culture, a recreation of the Russian city St. Petersburg, a fountain park, an extreme sports park and a 15,000-seat live performance theater.
“It has the kind of grand scale and unique creative concepts that drive our imagination and compel our involvement. To be at the center of Russia’s first world-class theme park is both an honor and an exciting challenge,” said Gary Goddard, CEO of Goddard Group. Goddard was also involved in the US$1.9 billion Galaxy Macau Casino Resort that opened in May in Macau.
The park would be the first of its scale for Russia, which is seeing an influx of investment in the hospitality sector ahead of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
“Due to a number of factors, many companies have unsuccessfully tried to enter the Russian market with theme park projects, for example, selecting the wrong location, such as the center of Moscow which has massive gridlock and traffic issues. In addition, real estate in the major metropolitan regions in Russia is enormously expensive,” Moshkovich said. “Keep in mind also that for many years Russia hasn’t been ready for a world-class theme park project such as Magic World Russia, and personal income of the average Russian wasn’t as strong as it is now.”
While the theme park will target customers from Russia and surrounding countries, signage in English will also be available to make it friendly for international visitors.