Bye Bye Bell's

A rollercoaster enthusiast website I visit has more information than our local news is reporting about the forced relocation (if, indeed, they relocate) of Bell's Amusement Park in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Tulsa County Public Facilities Authority apparently decided not to renew the lease, stating Bell's was not financially viable. That, after apparently having stated at some point that Bell's is the “No. 1 long-term tenant as far as revenue.”

Bell's announced earlier this year that they are going to build a new rollercoaster next year. After having fought for years with the local neighbors who claim the noise is already too loud, I suspect that someone got to the Tulsa County Public Facilities Authority and made some kind of deal with them. But, then again, I'm conspiracy minded. It just doesn't feel right.

Anyway, Bell's will be gone from the fairgrounds, and it is a sad day for Tulsa. Sometimes I feel this city is not progressing but going backwards.