how about a roller coaster down the Fulton Mall, maybe that will bring people... hehe.

I think that Granite Park is a GREAT idea. There are NO theme parks ANYWHERE in this area. People from "small" towns like Visalia and Madera will come to Fresno to have some family fun and spend money in our town. Roeding Park is dead because there really is nothing there but a zoo! This development will have multiple restaurants, shopping, and RIDES! My little brother (who's 22) and his friends are already excited about the Irish Pub (I've heard they're going to have 26 beers on tap!) and another older girlfriend is counting down the days until Cabo Wabo opens. And then there's my 11 year old son that can't wait for the Roller Coasters and he said his friends at school have heard about too. A lot of people are excited about this!

I think that it's awesome Fresno is getting a new developement and that it's being built somewhere OTHER than on the North side!

...the whole Granite Park development is well thought out and financially sound! It will make money!

And Harpain's Dairy sold the best chocolate milk ever! Thereminman even recorded a good song about the place! C'mon, post the link, T-Man!

The Santa Cruz Beach/Boardwalk which is one of the premier amusement parks on the west coast is on just 12 acres. I wouldn't assume that the size of this proposal alone will preclude this park from being something worth visiting.

Granite park is built pretty much where Harpain's Dairy used to be.
It was an odd but wonderful little place for a kid to go .
(It was within bike riding distance for me and my friends, and a good way to fill
a Saturday afternoon.) It had an odd little 'zoo'...chickens and monkeys behind chicken wire,
a few calves in stalls, and a spitting llama behind a fence. Not much really, but enough to keep a kid
busy if your mom stopped there after church to get the excruciatingly wonderful chocolate milk that came in bottles.
----Ok, sorry for the reminiscing,...
but,
To see it grow into something else that sounds a little off-beat sounds cool to me. Much better than another strip mall (already have that on that corner of Dakota and Cedar---blech).

It will be small, but hey, we get mini versions of everything here in our fair city.

I'm glad to see something "permanent" and REALLY family friendly coming to Fresno...and THIS time it's not another restaurant :-)

If the entry/ride costs aren't too high this could be a great addition to Granite Park. I know my son will love this place when he gets a little older.

About Roeding, I don't think you can really compare the amount of business Storyland does with this kind of development. Storyland/Playland is better matched with Blackbeard's, and even that's a stretch.

There are so many things being incorporated into this project that there really will be something for everybody. Plus, people LOVE new stuff... No telling how long it will be popular, but I'd be willing to bet that a whole lot of people will be visiting Granite Park on a regular basis.

My only real concern is that these huge developments (including Campus Pointe) are gettin built into the tiny inner pockets of Fresno. It sounds like a good thing but we are gonna be SO congested once everything is up and running. Maan, we only have like 2 freeways in this town.

Oh, and the fact that there's going to be a couple of full bars right next to the sports fields and amusement park is a little unsettling.

~Rell www.myspace.com/559rell www.myspace.com/trellthareallamane (music production)

Theme Park? What's the theme "smallville"? Everything mini except for costs and the long dresses women wear because it's a family scene.

I read that article laughing my rear off. I don't see how a theme park is workable. Roeding Park has Playland, which the city council bails out of financial trouble each year. The residents of the area don't even use Playland, so why build another theme park.
Instead of paving more of Fresno, plant a few trees, add some picnic tables and call it a day.

Would be nice to see businesses and such benefit. The trick would be, building it AND making it affordable for someone to go.