A judge in Delaware has halted the sale of Marineland Dolphin Adventure for the time being. An agreement had previously been reached between the current owner, The Dolphin Company, and a Texas-based firm known as Delightful Development. A hearing is currently scheduled for November 3rd to discuss the matter further.
Judge Laurie Selber Silverstein, a federal bankruptcy judge in the Delaware Bankruptcy Court, halted the sale amid concerns one potential bidder was improperly excluded from the process. A group led by former Marineland Director Felicia Cook have raised at least $4 million in an effort to bid, but say they were unfairly excluded from consideration by the recently-bankrupt Dolphin Company.
Also part of Judge Silverstein’s reasoning is that Marineland continues to be an open attraction which houses over a dozen live dolphins. In addition they also keep red footed tortoises, a loggerhead sea turtle, diamondback terrapins, and a moray eel according to the park’s website.
Technically part of the micro-town of Marineland, Florida, the Marineland Dolphin Adventure is located at the northern border of Flagler County on SR-A1A, just south of the St. Johns County line. Constructed originally in 1937, the park was opened in part by Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney (member of the illustrious Vanderbilt and Whitney families) and Ilya Adreyevich Tolstoy (grandson of Leo Tolstoy).
Marineland Dolphin Adventure is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, having been added in 1986. This was also included as a factor in Judge Silverstein’s decision to halt the $7.1 million sale for the time being. Still, if the eventual buyer chooses to tear down the sea life attraction and replace it with something else, the National Register inclusion would do little to stand in their way.
Chris Gollon is a Flagler County resident since 2004, as well as a staple of the local independent music scene and avid observer of Central Florida politics, arts, and recreation.
