Army Considering Military Theme Park [View All]

[Kadie]

Aug 8, 2006 5:13 am US/Pacific

Army Considering Military Theme Park

(AP) FORT BELVOIR, Va. The Army is considering a proposal to allow a private developer to build a military theme park that would include “4D” rides and bars including a “1st Division Lounge.”

Military officials said a massive entertainment and hotel complex built next to a national Army museum could draw more than 1 million people a year. But authorities in Fairfax County are objecting because of already traffic-clogged roads surrounding the proposed site.

Universal City Property Management III, of Orlando, Fla., submitted the unsolicited proposal for the theme park last year.

“You can command the latest M-1 tank, feel the rush of a paratrooper freefall, fly a Cobra Gunship or defend your B-17 as a waist gunner,” according to the proposal, which was obtained by The Washington Post.

http://cbs13.com/topstories/topstories_story_220081449.html




Army Ponders Amusement Venue, Hotel At Ft. Belvoir

By Timothy Dwyer
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, August 8, 2006; Page A01

Army officials say they are considering allowing a private developer to build a 125-acre entertainment, hotel and conference center complex next to a national Army museum at Fort Belvoir that could draw more than 1 million people a year to traffic-choked southern Fairfax County.

The possibility of adding what county officials call a military theme park arises as about 22,000 employees prepare to be transferred to Fort Belvoir in the next five years because of the federal base realignment and closure recommendations, designed to save $49 billion nationwide.

"As a lifelong resident of the Commonwealth of Virginia and a product of the public education system of Virginia, I feel that it is a shame that the state that produced some of the greatest leaders, thinkers, and writers our country has ever had, who believed so strongly in civil liberties and freedom, now chooses to discriminate against some of its own citizens. "

The Army is considering the entertainment venue to help offset the cost of the $300 million museum, which a spokesman said is scheduled to open in 2013. No federal funds are being sought for the museum, but Fairfax has donated $240,000.

A Florida developer has submitted an unsolicited proposal for a military theme park that would include the "Chateau Belvoir" hotel and an entertainment district with bars like the "1st Division Lounge" and several "4D" rides.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/07/AR2006080701182.html