Euro Disney talks stall on second French park
PARIS, April 15 (Reuters) - Euro Disney <EDLP.PA> said on
Thursday that negotiations were continuing with the French
authorities on a plan to open a second theme park in France.
An agreement on the second park, to be built on the same
site as the first in Marne-la-Vallee east of Paris, could be
signed in the next few weeks or months, a Euro Disney spokesman
said.
A deal had been expected on April 15, with an eye to
opening the new park in 2002, just in time to celebrate the
10th anniversary of Disneyland Paris.
"We are in the final phase of the negotiations," the
spokesman said, adding that the 2002 goal remained the "ideal"
date.
Officials of Euro Disney, 39 percent owned by The Walt
Disney Co. <DIS.N>, have said the new park, celebrating cinema
and television, would draw 4.5 million visitors in its first
year and create 4,500 new jobs, including 1,500 working
directly for the park.
Analyst Nigel Reed of Paribas Capital Markets said a second
park could be a boon for Euro Disney, provided financing could
be found and it did not undermine the existing park's business.
A second analyst, who asked not to be identified, said Euro
Disney should carry out a second financial restructuring while
it builds the new park. Its first restructuring was in 1994.
Disneyland Paris, which has more than 40 rides and
attractions, has become Europe's most popular tourist draw,
attracting 12.5 million visitors last year.
A second park had been envisaged in an agreement that Euro
Disney made with French authorities in 1987. The project was
shelved in 1993 as Euro Disney struggled with mounting debt,
but was revived last year.
The Disney formula calls for clusters of two or more theme
parks that boost the time and money visitors spend there.
The Marne-la-Vallee site already includes a convention
center, a film complex and hotels. An international shopping
center now under construction is due to open in 2000.
|
