Paramount theme park Murcia opening date given

 

The blueprint for the first Paramount Pictures-branded theme Park in Europe was unveiled on Friday of last week at a function attended by the Executive Vice President for Licensing at Paramount Pictures Michael Bartok, President of the Region of Murcia Ramón Luis Valcárcel and President for Murcia's Flagship Projects Jesus Samper.

Paramount announced that the park would be open and operational in 2015.

The 158 hectare site is just 15 minutes from the beach and the marina resort of Puerto de Mazarron, and will be divided into differently themed zones each with movieinspired themes, such as Star Trek, Titanic and Mission Impossible. There will also be a ‘Lifestyle Centre' with 2 five-star hotels, 3 four-star status and a number of three-star hotels. The resort will also beneit from themed shopping malls, restaurants, bars and clubs, a 3'000 seat conference centre – and an open-air auditorium to accomodate 15,000 people.

Chris Mercer, Director of Murcia-based Mercers with offices in Mazarron, comments, "It is a privilege to be the recipient of a landmark Theme Park in the local area that will rival Disneyland Paris and attract millions of visitors each year. It's also highly encouraging to follow the progress that has been made on the masterplan in terms of design, investment and timescales. Samper estimated on Friday that the project would directly create 10,000 construction jobs and upon opening, many more. Undoubtedly Paramount will have a positive effect locally - not least on the property market and house values. We have been through some hard times but Paramount's confidence and faith proves that the lure and attraction of Spain will prevail."

Michael Bartok reiterated that Spain was "key" to Paramount Pictures and highlighted the region's 300 sunny days each year as a major bonus. Meanwhile President Valcárcel was quick to make reference to the current economic climate in his speech saying that the Theme Park was being launched "with the support and enthusiasm of some and the doubt of others". He felt that in times of crisis what you cannot do is "stand still" and "while the road is tough, the outcome is sure." It is reported that Flagship Projects and Paramount Pictures have signed the license agreement for 30 years - which will be renewable for an unspecified period.