# Civic Matters > Suburban & Other OK Communities > Tulsa & Suburbs >  Bells theme park coming back

## Jesseda

they are singing a 50 year lease on land rumored to be in coweta... screamscape.com has in the info along with the tulsa paper... look like oklahom has two theme parks instead of one now!!! if a major casino opens up by the theme park or right next door this would make it a destination!!!!

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## sgt. pepper

it was only a matter of time Tulsa got one. Boy.....Tulsa is drying up alright.

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## kevinpate

Bells was fun back in the day, and I'm sure it was without going back quite that far, but it's been, well, a long time since I wandered their grounds.  Hopefully it will again create fond memories for a new generation.

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## Spartan

It was really bizarre how Tulsa forced out Bell's and still hasn't replaced them at Expo Square. I figured they would just go to Jenks, which has become ex-Tulsan HQ. Coweta will work, although it may be difficult getting people not from BA to make the drive.

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## kevinpate

If they do it well enough, folks will make the effort to find it (or so I hope for the sake of their wee ones.)

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## Jesseda

i am hoping for a silver dollar city theme... or a park that has oklahoma history to it, like the land run, oil, indians. etc.. now with bells own land the skies the limit.. hopefully they get a good chunk of land.. i think a waterpark would be cool right next door to the new park..

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## Dustin

Bell's Amusement Park may get new home | Tulsa World

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## Jesseda

yeah thats what we where talking about on this post, it is the same thing screamcape talked about

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## Bunty

> Bell's Amusement Park may get new home | Tulsa World


Unless they think their sales taxes are already too high, I bet Wagoner County votes for it.

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## ApplePearBerry

I miss Bell's Amusement Park...I went to Bell's at 2 - 3 times a year from 1987 all the way till it was closed. lol

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## scootinger

Wagoner County Commissioners Rescind Bell's Sales Tax Election - NewsOn6.com - Tulsa, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports - KOTV.com |

WAGONER, OK -- The Wagoner County Commission derailed plans to bring Bells Amusement Park to Wagoner County Tuesday.

In a surprise move, the Wagoner County Commission voted 2 to 1 to rescind a July 27th sales tax vote for a fairgrounds development project near Coweta, which would include Bells Amusement Park.

Commissioners Chris Edwards and Jim Hargrove want to study the proposal further. 

"I just think what we were asking was too big, too quick," said Chris Edwards, Wagoner County Commissioner.  "And we needed to do a better study of what we were going to ask of the public."

Those commissioners worry the ten-year, quarter cent sales tax wouldn't generate enough money for infrastructure needs for the complex, which would include an expo center, extension office, animal shelter and Bells.

"We needed to back up and stop it and do a better, thorough study of what we were going to be asking and putting on the ballot and if it's a good deal today, it will be a good deal tomorrow I feel," Edwards said.

But for Tom Vincent, the only Commissioner to vote against rescinding the tax election, the latest development is a deal killer.

"It's a workable deal, and it would have been a workable deal and then one person came in and the other two commissioners rolled over," Vincent said.  "That's pretty much what happened."

That one person he's talking about is David Tackett, who created a campaign called No Bells Tax to rally opposition to the proposed tax hike.

He wants Bells in Wagoner County, but doesn't want taxpayers to foot the bill.

"I'm happy that they listened to the people," Tackett said. "And I'm hopeful that they will come back with a plan that makes sense for everybody."

But Vincent says the project would have paid for itself by bringing in 100 jobs and plenty of dollars to Wagoner County's economy.

"Just think of what Bells would have brought to the Coweta area," he said. "It would have put them on the map."

There's still the possibility the tax vote could be brought before voters at a later date. Commissioner Edwards says that may happen with a revised plan to do the fairgrounds projects one at a time, rather than all at once.

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## Jesseda

yeah again oklahoma is to chicken sh*t to takea risk at making something grand..... we have lost out on a lot of things that could have happened in oklahoma because of things like this, but we spend toms of money on a bass pro shop in oklahoma city lol, and now the indian center in okc might not ever get done because they where denied funds, but hey who needs the indian things when we could builda training building for the thunder

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## metro

Bells? Grand? Destination? They were only talking 100 employees, the "grand" parks employ thousands. Heck, I bet Frontier City has several hundred at least.

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## rcjunkie

> Bells? Grand? Destination? They were only talking 100 employees, the "grand" parks employ thousands. Heck, I bet Frontier City has several hundred at least.


Bells Amusement Park was about 1/4 the size of Frontier City, not really a destination park, being the only one in the area, it was always popular with the kids and busy during the spring and summer.

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## Jesseda

bobby bell was planning to expand, he couldnt do that at the last location.. he was going to add  new coasters and other attractions,

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## Dustin

sigh  :Frown:

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## Thunder

> bobby bell was planning to expand, he couldnt do that at the last location.. he was going to add  new coasters and other attractions,


Most likely used rides posted for sale that they can actually afford rather than paying for a brand new design.

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## Bunty

If Wagoner doesn't want Bell's, then they need to try putting it in Stillwater, maybe at the fairgrounds, and get a good draw from Oklahoma City and Tulsa, along with the bigger nearby small towns, such as Enid and Ponca City.

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## rcjunkie

> If Wagoner doesn't want Bell's, then they need to try putting it in Stillwater, maybe at the fairgrounds, and get a good draw from Oklahoma City and Tulsa, along with the bigger nearby small towns, such as Enid and Ponca City.





I seriously doubt that anyone would plan a trip to Stillwater just to visit Bell's Amusement Park. It would be an OK place to visit if you were already there, but definitely not a destination point.

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## Jesseda

id visit and im from more, people say the same about frontier city, but i have had relatives visit first time from cali and they wanted to go to frontier city, they thought the park had a neat theme to it and wasnt bad at all

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## kevinpate

> [/COLOR]
> 
> 
> I seriously doubt that anyone would plan a trip to Stillwater just to visit Bell's Amusement Park. It would be an OK place to visit if you were already there, but definitely not a destination point.


I don't know rcjunkie.  When my youth were younger, each would get a poppa and me day at Frontier City.  We ran into folk from quite some distance out.  If Bell's built something worth going to for more than an hour or three, I can see folks popping to Stilwater for it as part of a weekend.  Less so there than Coweta area, since it wouldn't be that much further to come into OKC.

But, as a day trip and back home by nightfall, not really so much the OKC folk but from points east,west and north, I can see it.

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## z28james

Frontier City is still a draw from out of towners I talk to daily. I remember Bells and it was not a destination for Okies, hell neither is Frontier City because when I was younger we were to lazy to make the drive from Norman.

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## kevinpate

I agree as to what Bell's used to be all landlocked and such as it was in Tulsa.
You went there if you were in Tulsa for another reason. You did not go to Tulsa just to go to Bell's (may have even been true for Bixby folks.)

I'm not addressing that Bell's though, as it sounds like they want to build more than they had.  If done well enough, folks will go to it, perhaps even folks who wouldn't come on to OKC for Frontier City because it would add more drive time to the day.

I don't have clue one whether it will work or not, but if they can get the backing, I'm all in favor of seeing what they do and hope it works out for them.

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## Popsy

Is there any land along the south side of the river OKC could offer to lease to Bell's?

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## Jesseda

I know there was land off I-240 between eastern and bryant that was set for frontierr city possible relocation a couple years back, the land still looks available.. south okc

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## z28james

Actually bells would be perfect along the Oklahoma river with that carousel we are supposed to get, its not too big, just a nice little amusement area.

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## Dustin

Has anyone been to Frontier City or WWB lately?  Are the parks cleaner?

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## Jesseda

that would bea nicve along the okie river, like  boardwalk theme, would be awesome...

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## Bunty

It would be super cool if Bell's could be enclosed, so it could be open during winter.  Don't know how costly that would be, though.

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## Bunty

> [/COLOR]
> 
> 
> I seriously doubt that anyone would plan a trip to Stillwater just to visit Bell's Amusement Park. It would be an OK place to visit if you were already there, but definitely not a destination point.


Well, I think there would be less risk in rebuilding Bell's in Stillwater due to all the college kids complaining that there's nothing to do in Stillwater.  There's still thousands of them during the summer.  With that in mind Norman, too, should be looking into attracting Bell's.

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## Bunty

Further, OSU could lease out to Bell's all that land they got cleared out north of the stadium, if OSU isn't going to use it for a few more years.  IF so, then OSU should offer a good deal to Bell's.

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## metro

> Has anyone been to Frontier City or WWB lately?  Are the parks cleaner?


Haven't been in years, but I noticed them from the highway painting lots of stuff at WhiteWater a few weeks before they opened. It looks pretty nice to me and they've always been cleaner parks than Six Flags.

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## kevinpate

> Haven't been in years, but I noticed them from the highway painting lots of stuff at WhiteWater a few weeks before they opened. It looks pretty nice to me and they've always been cleaner parks than Six Flags.


High school age son and a bud were out to WWB recently, to meet up with some other folk they know from out of town.  They apparently had a great time because they was too busy goofing around to keep up with sunscreen.  

Oh well, sometimes life gets served with a heaping helping of discomfort.  They do plan on going back this summer so all in all, it's worth at least a second glance to them.

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## shavethewhales

> Has anyone been to Frontier City or WWB lately?  Are the parks cleaner?


Both Frontier City and WWB were bought up a couple of years ago by PARC properties. PARC has done an absolutely splendid job of sprucing up Frontier City. I stopped by there myself a couple of weeks ago and was amazed at the improvement since the take-over. They've added a new family coaster, completely re-built the old dark ride, fixed older rides, and put a slap of paint on just about every surface of the park. It's still not all that great of a theme park as far as the rides go, but it's miles from where it was and will only get better. Just wanted to point that out.

As for Bell's, well... I was an avid supporter of Robby Bell back in the day, but having grown a little older and reflecting on things a little more, I can see pretty clearly why Bell's hasn't resurfaced yet, and why they were kicked out in the first place. I doubt they will ever make a come-back, and for the sake of my fond memories of Bell's, I hope they don't. Robby flat out doesn't seem to know how to run a good park. I've heard a LOT of bad stories about him from past employees. But the worst aspect about him that has caused/prolonged this whole mess is his complete lack of presentation. I didn't hear anything from him during the whole lease debacle except "poor me...". He should have stood his ground, appealed to the people of Tulsa, and pointed out the investments he had made in the park during the years up to their dismissal. I know for a fact they added a brand new drop tower and a new kiddie ride in the two years before they were booted, and they had finally gotten approval for a new wooden coaster. With those facts behind him, how did he get himself thrown out without a big stink?

And this Coweta deal, why is he not campaigning more publicly for the new park? So he's been turned down - that's no surprise, no one has a clue what he's planning to do and they sure don't want to pay more taxes for what they know nothing about. To start, he should present his plans to the public and point out the ways that the sales tax revenue would benefit the community. I don't know what they expect to happen, someone to show up out of the blue and give them money and land? 

I just felt the need to rant about this. I really enjoy theme parks, they're my get-away from life's troubles, and I sure do miss having a good wooden coaster close by.

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## Thunder

Any new updates?

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## ZYX2

Yes there are. They have announced that they are opening 3 or 4 kiddie rides at a flea market on Saturdays. I hope they  succeed, but I do not have high hopes.

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## Thunder

What flea market?  Why no one posting any update on their relocation?

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## shavethewhales

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/artic...5_Thefor545239

All this means is that the Bell's are out of cash, prospects, and ideas. The meager income they'll get from operating a couple of kiddie rides over the weekend will do very little to revive Bell's. I'm just glad that Robby is working again. 

Earlier this year the Bell's had to clear out a lot of their storage space. What remains of Zingo is now down at Larson's headquarters in Texas, where it is offered for sale through IRM. The trains are really the only thing I expect to see sold there.

As for the other rides, almost all seem to be gone. The kiddie rides that Robby will open at the flea market are probably the only operable rides he has left. I know the drop tower and kiddie ride were repossessed after the park closed, the hymalaya was sold to a park in Denver, the swinging ship was damaged beyond repair, what's left of Phantasmagoria was eventually sold off or given away as halloween props, and the log flume apparently rotted away. The spider and Tilt-a-whirl were probably sold as well. 

Bell's ain't coming back.

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## ljbab728

> http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/artic...5_Thefor545239
> 
> All this means is that the Bell's are out of cash, prospects, and ideas. The meager income they'll get from operating a couple of kiddie rides over the weekend will do very little to revive Bell's. I'm just glad that Robby is working again. 
> 
> Earlier this year the Bell's had to clear out a lot of their storage space. What remains of Zingo is now down at Larson's headquarters in Texas, where it is offered for sale through IRM. The trains are really the only thing I expect to see sold there.
> 
> As for the other rides, almost all seem to be gone. The kiddie rides that Robby will open at the flea market are probably the only operable rides he has left. I know the drop tower and kiddie ride were repossessed after the park closed, the hymalaya was sold to a park in Denver, the swinging ship was damaged beyond repair, what's left of Phantasmagoria was eventually sold off or given away as halloween props, and the log flume apparently rotted away. The spider and Tilt-a-whirl were probably sold as well. 
> 
> Bell's ain't coming back.


I tried the link and the story does not come up.  It's really sad that Tulsa can't get a first class amusement park back in operation.

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## shavethewhales

^Whoops, should have checked it - here is the updated link: http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/artic...45239&allcom=1

Tulsa will never get a first class amusement park - Bell's was the best we could have hoped for. Amusement parks are ridiculously difficult and expensive to run, and these days you'd have to be truly dedicated to pursue one as a business venture. The classic parks are dying out, and with them goes some of the last refuges of an era where people got out and did things... So many remaining parks are building up and turning into regional resorts rather than places to spend a day or even just a few hours kicking back and maybe riding a couple of rides. If you want to make money on an entertainment venue, there are so many other, more lucrative products out there that trying to run a small amusement park just looks foolish.

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## shavethewhales

An update - I actually  stopped by this flea market to see the "rebirth" of Bell's for myself yesterday. It's not hard at all to get to from the interstate I always take through the area. I was pleasantly surprised to see that he actually has space for 5 rides rather than just a couple as I had thought. 4 rides have been set up so far but are still being refurbished from the looks of it. They're still running electrical through trenches to each ride. It doesn't look terrible, and I think he'll have a lot of business when he opens. The flea market is huge, and the parking lot was packed out. Lots of kids there too. 

I also stopped by his downtown storage area. Man, I didn't realize how much stuff has been just lying out next to the street all these years, and this is after he's sold off a number of rides and pieces of equipment. The log flume is literally right out there on the curb in an open lot. In another lot I spotted the base of another kiddie ride that will probably join the others soon and the arms of the old Octopus ride. He still has the base of the Round Up out there too, but I don't know if that can operate again. 

They might actually have space for more Bell's rides if the flea market is interested. I'd be interested to see the Octopus come back to life at the very least. 

Here are some photos of the storage space downtown and the new set-up: http://imgur.com/a/7od4Y

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## metro

So they're setting up shop at a flea market? I'd hardly call that a comeback.

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## Bunty

Like I said before Bells should lease that expanse of vacant land OSU owns north of the stadium, and I bet the college and high school kids would keep the place busy.

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## metro

College kids? Really? Not hardly, college kids could care less for this type of "fun" in this day and age. high school maybe just because they aren't allowed into clubs, etc.

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## Jesseda

wow bells must have had no money at all, you would think if the plan was to  pop up with 4 rides you would have thought they would at least be new or something, theses rides look so old cheap and rusty, instead of holding a bunch of ride pieces in a field, how about selling all the old stuff and use that money to buy 3 or 4 up to date rides?

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## shavethewhales

College kids do embrace the theme park style of entertainment when it is presented correctly. However they are a tougher crowd to sell to at the same time as everyone else, and you have the issue of dealing with the teens that would come as well. As I have reminded people in the Frontier City discussion thread, young families are considered the best base to appeal to because there are more of them, they spend more freely, and there are far fewer crowd control issues to deal with, among other things. That is why you see fewer thrill rides built these days at smaller parks like FC. Not that this is necessarily part of Bell's game plan at the flea market. They're simply trying to make some money again.

Jesseda, Bell's has almost nothing left. Many of their larger rides have either been damaged/destroyed, sold, or even repossessed in the case of their two newer rides that weren't paid off.  It also sounded like he is having to downsize the space he has rented to store equipment. I am not sure there is necessarily a serious "plan" anymore for a come back, it seems more like the Bell family trying to do _something_ to get some cash flow going for them again. These old rides are fine. With a little refurbishment there is little difference between them and what you would get with something new. It's not like he could sell most of that stuff anyway except for scrap. 

The last I heard, it did actually sound like the family is still holding out hope to do something someday, somewhere with the park at large. I don't even know what that means anymore though. Perhaps he will get some investment to expand his presence at the flea market someday. There is a lot of land being used for junk storage behind the market where he could put whatever he has left. That would certainly be an interesting business mash-up.

Edit: I did find this quote from an article last september:



> "We could have 15 of'em out here before it's all said and done," he told KRMG. "When we're all said and done, we'll have a substantial kiddie park out here.


http://www.krmg.com/news/news/local/...-happen/nDtmn/

I never heard that line before. Sounds like he actually does plan to rebuild into a kiddie park out there.

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## Swake2

> College kids do embrace the theme park style of entertainment when it is presented correctly. However they are a tougher crowd to sell to at the same time as everyone else, and you have the issue of dealing with the teens that would come as well. As I have reminded people in the Frontier City discussion thread, young families are considered the best base to appeal to because there are more of them, they spend more freely, and there are far fewer crowd control issues to deal with, among other things. That is why you see fewer thrill rides built these days at smaller parks like FC. Not that this is necessarily part of Bell's game plan at the flea market. They're simply trying to make some money again.
> 
> Jesseda, Bell's has almost nothing left. Many of their larger rides have either been damaged/destroyed, sold, or even repossessed in the case of their two newer rides that weren't paid off.  It also sounded like he is having to downsize the space he has rented to store equipment. I am not sure there is necessarily a serious "plan" anymore for a come back, it seems more like the Bell family trying to do _something_ to get some cash flow going for them again. These old rides are fine. With a little refurbishment there is little difference between them and what you would get with something new. It's not like he could sell most of that stuff anyway except for scrap. 
> 
> The last I heard, it did actually sound like the family is still holding out hope to do something someday, somewhere with the park at large. I don't even know what that means anymore though. Perhaps he will get some investment to expand his presence at the flea market someday. There is a lot of land being used for junk storage behind the market where he could put whatever he has left. That would certainly be an interesting business mash-up.
> 
> Edit: I did find this quote from an article last september:
> 
> http://www.krmg.com/news/news/local/...-happen/nDtmn/
> ...


Robbie talks a lot. Here's his old business plan that he gave Expo Square before they booted him:

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## Swake2

Randy’s mother is the chair of the Tulsa County Republican Party and a well know Bircher. She ran for County Commission right after Bell’s lost its lease on a platform of “I hate Randi Miller” and no new taxes for anything. It was ironic that she was running at the same time that the Bell family was asking for tax money from Wagoner County to open a new park.

Bell’s was in miserable shape when they closed. Yes they got hosed by Randi Miller and the County Commission’s too cozy relationship with Murphy Brothers (the Tulsa based company that does midway rides for state fairs and owns Big Splash) but if they had done even regular basic maintenance on the park there would have been no excuse to kick them out. They created all their own problems. They have no money themselves and they are hypocritical idiots that are all talk and no plan. The rides, what’s left of them, are rotting outside  in the sun in Gunboat Park in downtown Tulsa. The Zingo is for sale as lumber on Ebay. Drive by and see sometime. Bell’s is never coming back. There’s nothing left.

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## shavethewhales

^Swake, you realize Bell's paid more to the fairground every year than every other tenant, sometimes every other tenant combined? Not to mention, he made significant repairs/renovations across the park in the years leading to his dismissal, and was even adding some big new rides. It is curious how he was suddenly thrown out just as the park was becoming popular again and the plans to build a new roller coaster on the far end of the property were finally approved after probably decades of grief and revision. Finally, IIRC, Bell's wasn't asking Wagoner County for money to rebuild the park, they were hoping for a bond issue to be approved that would expand utilities and facilities on their fairgrounds. Bell's needed that infrastructure to be out there before they could build. Local governments do this all the time for new developments. If it were Walmart you can bet those utilities would have been set up before sundown on the day they asked!

I mean, I'm totally aware that they weren't the greatest minds in business and their involvement with the bircher society is slimey, but the shear amounts  of mis-information that is out there about Bell's issues is staggering. I really wish he actually knew something about PR so his business could have more of an online presence and combat a lot of this. Hell, if he had known anything about PR, he never would have been kicked out in the first place if people had known more about what was actually going on. The Wagoner County deal probably would have gone through too if he had actually addressed the public's concerns about what they were paying for. In any case I'd rather support him than sitting around wishing something else would come to town, cause it doesn't look like there ever will be.

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## Swake2

Like I said, they were hosed when they were kicked out. What happened to them was wrong.Randi Miller is scum.

But that doesn't change the fact that the park was falling down, a number of rides were just closed due to lack or repair. The ones that were open often looked like crap. Security was a joke and it had become a regular occurring for dozens of cop cars to be called out to Bell's at night for fights. Yes they had a couple of new rides but meaningful change was not being made to the park. The park was an eyesore at the corner of the completely redone Expo Square. It may have not been a good reason to kick them out, they should have instead been forced to make repairs and maybe take on a more professional business partner. But the problems were the excuse that the county needed to get rid of Bell's and the problems were nothing but Robbie's fault. 

And the tax certainly was for both the property for the park and infrastructure:

http://www.newson6.com/global/story.asp?s=12533027

At the same time that his mother was railing against Vision2025 for Tulsa County.

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## shavethewhales

^Interesting, in the flury of news articles around that story I never saw that the county was actually going to control the property. At least they would have gotten a nice rent out of it like the Tulsa Fairgrounds did. 

I agree with your feelings about security, and "meaningful change" can be debated, but I still have to point out that the rides were not "closed due to lack or repairs". People made a lot of fuss over their dilapidated mini golf course, which I admit was an eyesore to some degree and should have been removed, but it was in that state because they spent several years trying to get permission to build a new roller coaster in that spot. Construction on said roller coaster would have started at the end of the season during which they were kicked out. The only other ride that may have been closed at the time was the kiddie bumper cars, which were badly damaged during the microburst that hit the park about a year or less prior. I don't remember if they ever fixed it or left it closed and were going to replace it. 

I documented the park fairly regularly due to my involvement with some of the national amusement park enthusiast groups/forums. From my perspective it really wasn't a bad park at all, and this is comparing it to dozens of other parks that I have come into contact with. A lot of it comes down to perspective and expectations. I certainly knew what to expect from this type of establishment, but their lack of over-arching business skills and PR certainly contributed to warped expectations and mis-information for many in Tulsa. I agree that most of their problems, real or imaginary, were due to Robby's poor skills and inaction. Taking on a more suitable business partner would have been a good idea for them.

But I digress, it's all historical details now. I will still be watching as he develops this kiddie park. Sadly it may be the only amusement development I ever get to watch in this town. The era of the community amusement park seems to have past.

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