Alabama State Parks Director Greg Lein announced that a contract has been awarded for a new aerial adventure attraction at DeSoto State Park. After a competitive bidding process the park has chosen Screaming Eagle Adventures to develop and manage an aerial adventure attraction at DeSoto, in northeast Alabama.
“The parks have changed significantly from when the Civilian Conservation Corps completed the first structures at Cheaha State Park in the 1930s,” said Mr. Lein. “Our existing recreational concession agreements have been very successful and attracted tens of thousands to our parks. We expect the new aerial attraction to be equally successful and bring new visitors to our incredible parks.”
This new agreement will be similar to other recreational concession agreements already in place at parks around the state. Private businesses develop and maintain attractions at the parks and the parks receive a portion of the revenue they generate. In 2013, Gulf State Park entered into a successful recreational concession agreement with the Gulf State Adventure Center to operate a zip line. Oak Mountain has a similar agreement with FlipSide Watersports, which operates a water cable system at the park that allows guests to wakeboard on the cable without a boat.
“We’re honored to join in this partnership with Alabama’s State Parks,” said Banning Mills and Screaming Eagle owner Mike Holder. “Our top priority in developing these zip lines, ropes courses and other aerial adventures will be in protecting the natural beauty of the parks and ensuring the safety of park guests. We’re in the midst of an extensive process with the parks to determine the best location for the attraction which will have a minimal footprint.”
While the new aerial attraction will have a minimal impact on the natural environment, the economic impact from the project is huge. This economic impact affects much more than the state parks, helping to bring guests to the local businesses surrounding the park.
“This new project is so exciting for DeSoto State Park and north Alabama,” said State Senator Steve Livingston (R-Scottsboro) “Twenty years ago I do not think anyone could imagine these ecotourism adventure tours at the parks, 20 years ago you also could not stream a movie on your smart phone. As technology changes, people’s preferences change. These types of adventure attractions are growing around the country, and I hope to see thousands more visit our park to take advantage of these new aerial adventure tours.”
Screaming Eagle has developed projects in other natural areas of the country. They developed and maintain the world’s longest zip line course at Banning Mills, Ga. That zip line attracts over 25,000 visitors a year.
Screaming Eagle will be developing and managing adventure attractions at three other Alabama State Parks: Wind Creek, Lake Guntersville and Cheaha. These new aerial adventures are scheduled to be open in time for summer vacation season. Screaming Eagle and Alabama State Parks leadership are in the process of determining locations within the parks and specific details of the aerial attractions. Additional information will be released in the coming months detailing more about these new attractions.