Water theme park planned

• By CHRIS GAUTREAU
• Advocate business writer
• Published: May 8, 2008 - Page: 1D - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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A private investment group headed by Baton Rouge developer Tom Nolan Sr. could be within a few months of breaking ground on “Frogland USA,” a proposed Acadia Parish water theme park based on the annual frog festival in Rayne.

Bob Miller, another Baton Rouge developer and Frogland USA LLC investor, said Wednesday the park would be built on a 170-acre tract the group has secured at Interstate 10 and La. 98 in Acadia Parish. The park would tap into south Louisiana’s tourism market, as well as casino traffic in nearby Lake Charles, he said.

According to the group’s promotional materials, Frogland would include a water park, an entertainment facility, hotels, an amphitheater, tennis courts, restaurants and retail shopping.

“This is bringing a family entertainment venue to our community, and that’s healthy,” Rayne Mayor Jim Petitjean said. “Just as important has been the regional approach by every level of, not only elected officials, but economic development professionals, to support the project.”

Miller, who also has offices in Los Angeles, described Frogland as a public-private development between investors and the city of Rayne. It would be part of Roux Acadiana, a larger commercial development spearheaded by Nolan, whose developments include several restaurants and banks.

Miller said Frogland began about 18 months ago, when Nolan was approached by Water Park Experts Inc., a suburban San Antonio, Texas, firm that expressed interest in building a water park in south Louisiana.

Miller said that under the ownership structure, Water Park Experts would build and own the water amusement portion of the park. The Frogland investment group would spend just under $40 million.

Petitjean said the park also would benefit from about $10 million in incentives that include property tax exemptions over several years.

According to a synopsized version of an economic impact study by Anthony J. Greco, an economist and University of Louisiana at Lafayette professor, total construction on the park and Roux Acadiana would top $230 million.

Greco’s report says the park would generate 1,781 jobs with a total annual payroll of $38.6 million. It also would generate retail sales revenue of $2.3 million for local governments and $2.6 million for the state, the report found.

Miller said that construction could begin within 90 days, depending on debt financing. The project has been hampered, he said, by the national economy’s credit crunch and its effects on the municipal bond market.

“We’re in a position where we’re recasting the project in terms of structured financing,” Miller said. “We’ll probably use taxable bonds, commercial paper transactions.”

Miller sought to distinguish Frogland from Jazzland, the New Orleans theme park that struggled financially until it ultimately shut down after Hurricane Katrina.