The city of San Diego is suing SeaWorld San Diego for more than $12 million in unpaid rent that was deferred in the early months of the pandemic and related to the theme park's longtime lease on nearly 200 acres of prime city-owned waterfront land.
San Diego City Attorney Mara Elliott said the civil suit filed September 7 in San Diego County Superior Court seeks $12.23 million in unpaid rent, penalties and interest, after rent went unpaid over three years.
The city said SeaWorld has reneged on terms of a lease agreement dating back to the park’s opening in 1964 and amended in 1998, calling for the park operator to pay a minimum of $10.4 million per year plus a 3% surcharge.
According to the suit, a lease audit by the city treasurer found SeaWorld San Diego owes about $8.9 million in unpaid rent and surcharges for the period between January 1, 2019, and April 30, 2022. The amount being sought by the city includes about $3.4 million in interest charges and late fees, with interest still accumulating.
“The city has a right to expect more from a 60-year partnership that has proven quite lucrative for SeaWorld,” Elliott said in a statement. “City taxpayers — many of whom are legitimately struggling to recover from the global pandemic — should not have to absorb SeaWorld’s debts and liabilities. We believe a court of law will agree.”
San Diego City Council voted in May to authorize legal action by the city attorney if the theme park operator did not respond to the city’s three invoices for the unpaid rent that were sent since last October. Elliott said the park operator “has refused to engage in good faith discussions, leaving the city with no alternative but to sue.”
In its own statement emailed to CoStar News Friday, SeaWorld San Diego officials said the theme park has made more than $146 million in lease payments to the city since 2010.
'Long Relationship'
“While as a matter of policy we don’t comment on potential litigation, we have enjoyed a long relationship with the City and remain hopeful that we can resolve this matter,” SeaWorld said in the statement. “We have partnered with the City for nearly 60 years — conducting thousands of animal rescues, numerous recycling drives and many other events. We appreciate all the City has done and we look forward to addressing this situation."
SeaWorld declined to comment further on the lawsuit.
After California and San Diego County officials ordered theme parks to close in response to the pandemic, SeaWorld San Diego shut down from March 2020 to August 2020. It was also closed from December 2020 to February 2021.
SeaWorld San Diego opened in 1964 on about 190 acres owned by the city in the Mission Bay neighborhood and remains among the region’s biggest visitor attractions. The park’s current 50-year ground lease with the city expires in June 2048.
The theme park is among the oldest of 12 venues nationwide operated by Orlando, Florida-based SeaWorld Entertainment under brands including SeaWorld, Aquatica, Sesame Place and Busch Gardens.
Like its theme park rivals, SeaWorld Entertainment officials have reported attendance and revenue approaching or passing pre-pandemic levels at several locations in the past year. SeaWorld Entertainment CEO Marc Swanson said last month the company is planning its first on-site hotels that are set to open starting in 2026, though specific U.S. locations have not been announced.
Theme parks are generators of nearby hotel and retail demand, though industry analysts do not expect U.S. parks to fully recover their pre-pandemic attendance, revenue and profits for at least another year.