Development
BY JOEL VALLEY
A new amusement park, dubbed COTALAND, at Circuit of the Americas, will span approximately 30 acres with 33 attractions including: • Two high-thrill roller coasters • Two family-friendly roller coasters • One roller coaster for children ages 3-6 “Most parks would spread this many rides out over a wider space, but what we’ve tried to do with this park is actually condense it a little bit so that we have more shade,” Bobby Epstein said. The attractions will be located between turns 19 and 20 of the COTA racetrack, where guests can take a “Hot Lap” around the track into the amusement park. New thrills headed to Circuit of the Americas
More than a track COTALAND is the latest addition to the Circuit of the Americas site.
Key:
Circuit of the Americas COTALAND Racetrack Germania Insurance Amphitheater
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The Circuit Breaker features a tilting track that rotates 90 degrees.
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SOURCE: CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICASCOMMUNITY IMPACT
COURTESY CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS
© GOOGLE EARTH
Zooming in
Year-round oerings at COTA
draw crowds to COTALAND, which ocials hope will sell two million tickets annually. “That won’t necessarily be the case in year one, but most amusement parks grow over time,” he said. “So we plan to grow into success.” The COTA campus currently averages 1.3 million visitors each year.
The Circuit Breaker—a ride that features a 90-degree drop and reaches speeds of up to 60 miles per hour—was the second roller coaster constructed as part of COTALAND, Epstein said. Construction on the attraction concluded in late September, and attendees to the Formula 1 race Oct. 17-19 got to test ride the coaster. Epstein said Circuit Breaker is expected to
COTA Driving Experience
Karting
RV Park
Mini Golf
SOURCE: COTACOMMUNITY IMPACT
What ocials are saying
The outlook
Visit Austin President and CEO Tom Noonan said he believes COTALAND becoming more of a “year- round” destination will drive “great economic development” for Austin and bring in new tourists to the city. “For me, COTALAND is that new family desti- nation that we don’t have as much of in Austin as you’d have in other places like Fiesta Texas or Six Flags,” Noonan said. “... It makes us become a much better family destination with young kids and that’s really going to help our spring, summer and fall especially.” Dori Kelley, business attraction, retention and expansion manager for the Bastrop Economic
Epstein said he is optimistic that COTALAND could open next summer, and added a water park could be the next step. “I think that’s two or three years down the line—one year to prove that people want to experience things like what we’re building with the amusement park, and then a year or so to build the water park," he said. Epstein said he hopes when families plan their future weekends and vacations they stay close to home and think about heading out to COTA.
"When they have the races out there, it’s great. When they do concerts out there, it’s great. But the idea of having a new attraction out there ... making it more of a destination year-round is going to be great for Austin, Texas." TOM NOONAN, VISIT AUSTIN PRESIDENT AND CEO
Development Corporation, told Community Impact that the city views every COTA event as an eco- nomic opportunity for the city and county.
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SOUTH CENTRAL AUSTIN EDITION
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