Holiday World owners pull out of Louisville project

The chief executive of a company that planned to reopen the former Kentucky Kingdom amusement park in Louisville says the project was scrapped because officials didn't think they would have the freedom under a lease to make decisions quickly and independently.

Bluegrass Boardwalk announced on its website Friday that it was withdrawing from the project due to government regulations and stipulations.

CEO Natalie Koch told The Courier-Journal on Saturday that it wasn't any particular regulation that led to the decision and that officials "agonized over" whether to move forward.

The Koch family also runs Holiday World in Santa Claus, Ind., but it owns the park instead of leasing it. Natalie Koch said the family "spent countless hours trying to make it work" in Kentucky, but they were unsuccessful.