In July, Schlitterbahn owner Jeff Henry told New Times that his company had had their eye on the acre of land for almost two decades. All he needed was approval from the Federal Aviation Administration. Once it was established that the airport would not need the parcel of land for expansion, Schlitterbahn pounced and announced their intention of opening a park there sometime in 2018.

The next move was for the city to purchase the land and then lease it to Schlitterbahn. Commissioners approved the idea earlier this month, and the ball began to roll. But Premier Parks immediately made their concerns known, and threatened to take legal action after the initial vote to approve the lease to Schlitterbahn went through. 

According to the complaint, Premier says that Rapids would suffer "substantial damages" and argues that Fort Lauderdale is not allowing other bids for the lease. 

If you like this story, consider signing up for our email newsletters.

SHOW ME HOW

X

Newsletters

_{All-access pass to the top stories, events and offers around town.}

• No Thanks
• Sign Up

X

SUCCESS!

You have successfully signed up for your selected newsletter(s) - please keep an eye on your mailbox, we're movin' in!

Schlitterbahn is known for its extravagant and huge water parks, with locations in Texas and Kansas City. The park features giant water slides, rides and pools. And it's the company's plan to make their Fort Lauderdale park the largest in the world.

"It's going to be the biggest, baddest water park ever built on the face of this Earth," Henry said in July. "People will have never seen anything like it."

Henry has said that beyond payments for the parcel of land, taxpayers won't be paying for the park.

A spokesperson for Schlitterbahn tells New Times that the company has no comment at this time, regarding the Premier Parks lawsuit.