People living in and around Cincinnati, as well as the many tourists who visit the city each year, will have one less destination to visit in the new year after the iconic Coney Island park announced it is closing at the end of the year.
The management at Coney Island, which has been operating since 1886, announced its difficult decision that the park will close at the end of 2023 following the conclusion of the Nights of Lights holiday event, per WLWT.
"We have been proud to provide a place where so many wonderful memories were created for families," the park said in a statement. "We thank the millions of patrons and employees from Cincinnati and surrounding neighborhoods. You made this a special place for all of us. But the time has come for this historic destination to offer new and different options for entertainment-seekers looking for fun and unique experiences."
The park added that anyone who has purchased a 2024 season pass has been fully refunded.
Despite the closure of the park, there will still being an exciting attraction in its place after the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (CSO) and its subsidiary Music & Event Management Inc. (MEMI) acquired all Coney Island Inc. assets, with the groups planning to create a new "first-of-its-kind" $118 million entertainment campus. Other MEMI properties around Cincinnati include the Andrew J. Brady Music Center, Riverbend Music Center, PNC Pavilion and Taft Theatre and Ballroom, WLWT reports.
"We are building a new home for live music events that will offer a mesmerizing fusion of cutting-edge technology and architectural significance," CSO President Jonathan Martin said in a press release. "This new development will usher in the future of the music industry, and we are proud to be leading the next step in the same way Riverbend changed the face of live music in our community 40 years ago when it opened. Now, with CSO's historic success with Riverbend and PNC Pavilion, we are creating an expanded music, arts and entertainment campus for the region to drive artistic excellence and innovation as well as the local economy."
Rosemarie Moehring, MEMI vice president of marketing, said they "appreciate the history" of Coney Island and look forward to "moving forward and just creating a new entertainment experience where people will create more memories [for] years and years to come."