Laurence Dollimore
THE iconic Tivoli World theme park has filed for bankruptcy and has gone into administration.
The Malaga courts will now carry out an economic report on the business to determine if it is viable, with the result expected in a few months.
Founded in 1972, the park has been embroiled in a bitter court battle in recent years between disputed owners and managers, which has led to the ‘deterioration’ of many of the rides.
The ongoing fight between the International Company of Parks and Attractions (Cipasa), owned by Corodoban Rafael Gomez, and the real estate group Tremon, has held back progress on the park for a decade.
Neither have wanted to invest in the attractions over disputes relating to the management and physical ownership of the site.
Gomez, who acquired the park in 2004, sold it to Tremon in 2007 through his company Arenal 2000 as part of a broader real estate deal.
However Gomez claims he never received the money for the theme park, situated in Benalmadena.
Tremon insisted that it does own the land and the matter is pending resolution in the Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, administrators said the park will continue to operate over the summer and that they have already visited workers to instil calm.
“The management and staff are very keen to see the park continue, but we will have to see what the numbers say,” one told La Opinion de Malaga.
The theme park has kept open more than 80% of its rides this summer and the number of visitors has been ‘acceptable’.
An administrator added that the bankruptcy is also an opportunity to ‘normalise’ the operation of the park and could provide a brighter future.
