Spreepark Area will be sold in a compulsory auction …

Who needs a theme park when he already has a charade like the great Berlin airport project? While a classic theme park can be found in most of the world’s capitals and big cities, Berlin seems to do well without one … but this has not always been the case. On the premises of the so-called Kulturpark Plänterwald, where up to 1.5 million visitors were being entertained in a state-loyal way during the era of the former German Democratic Republic (as of 1969), the former and disreputable showman Norbert Witte, managed the Spreepark Berlin after the fall of the Berlin Wall until 2001. The park, whose operating company had to file for bankruptcy, has been lying idle now for more than ten years. Although different persons and companies showed interest in the area in the last years, including the French Compagnie des Alpes group, no agreement could have been reached so far… potential buyers withdrew from the project again and again. But who wants to develop and operate a theme park that is based on building lease?

The around 29 hectare large area will be sold in a compulsory auction by the district court of Berlin on 3 July 2013. The market value determined by the court of the run-down area, which is based on building lease, amounts to 1.62 million Euros.

Unpaid claims of the tax office are to be paid with the proceeds of the sale. However, the debts of the former operating company, which amount to 15 million Euros, are not to be taken over. Belgian company Studio 100, which has been pursuing a remarkable expansion course within the amusement park industry during the last years, is said to be one of the main parties interested in the premises. But whether an amusement park operator is willing to get engaged with a ground rent may still be considered unlikely. By the way: It’s the wine which will become of value the longer it rests; not the ground (or an airport) …

(A comment by Petra Probst)