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Merryland Amusement

2 Park — 2009

Gregory Stone
Regent University

In September 2009, the “Support Merryland” advocacy group was started to draw public
interest in the historic Merryland Amusement Park. Anthony (Tony) Kenworthy is cur-
rently aligned with this Kansas historical preservation group for the purpose of gaining
federal government influence toward a “historical site” designation, which would help to
secure the property and its assets for potential investors for the purpose of site restoration.
There is also a growing grassroots level interest throughout Kansas in seeing Merryland
restored to its previous days of carnival-like splendor. Tony is fully aware of this state sen-
timent and intends to use it to move a state-based initiative forward for just that purpose.
Tony has to make a decision! The owners of Merryland Amusement Park, a derelict
“50 acres of fun!” amusement park located in Kansas City, have again put the attraction up
for sale after several failed attempts to reopen the park. Merryland officially closed its
entrance gates to the public in 2009. If Tony waits too long, his colossal theme park dream
will vaporize. If he acts too quickly, he might get the keys to the Titanic.
Poor financial management and other factors contributed to the owners’ decision to
close and sell the park. Tony has three investment options, and investors associated with
each are ready to move, even in the face of poor park performance—or, in this case, nonex-
istent performance. Tony’s entrepreneurial magic is just what the amusement park needs, if
not more of an entrepreneurial miracle. The park is the perfect fit for providing fun activi-
ties for disabled children—Tony’s personal passion.
Tony’s first option is to buy the park, make the renovations, and reopen it under his
management. Altria, a major corporation, has offered all the cash he needs to make the pur-
chase representing Tony’s second option. Finally a local consortium of entrepreneurs gives
him more control, but far less cash. Choosing the right option could make or break Tony’s
career, his finances, his life, his reputation, and even his personal relationships.

Background
Merryland is a local theme/fun park that originally opened in 1955. The park was started
and managed for 33 years by Stanley Merry, a nephew of the man the park was named
after. In 1988, Stanley Merry died and left the park to his only heir, his widowed daughter-
in-law, Samantha Steinberg.
Samantha had little interest in owning, and much less in operating, an amusement
park. Her second husband, Alan, took up the responsibility for most of the day-to-day
operations. Although the couple operated the park from 1988 to 2008, Samantha’s heart
was never in the business. Maintenance budgets and the total number of employees were
annually reduced to the detriment of the park’s operations. They simultaneously, however,
kept annually increasing park entrance fees, “to suck every last dime we can get out of the
park,” according to Samantha.
Falling revenues and a noticeable degrading of the park’s facilities prompted long-
time owners Samantha and Alan Steinberg to put the park up for sale in the fall of 2006,
with an asking price of $5.8 million for the 50-acre facility. Twenty of those acres were
still in woods and fields behind the 30-acre theme park area.
Two other groups tried unsuccessfully to take over the operations and keep
Merryland going prior to the amusement park officially closing in 2009, but both found
refurbishing costs and operating costs were far more than anticipated. Rising liability