Xanterra Parks and Resorts - Expansion Into Virginia July 2010

Expansion Into Virginia July 2010

In July 2010, it was announced that Xanterra had entered into an agreement to purchase the Kingsmill Resort, which is located near Williamsburg, Virginia. The Kingsmill Resort has 425 rooms, five restaurants, 17,000 square feet (1,600 m2) of conference space, a spa and fitness center, marina, and 15-court tennis center. Three championship golf courses and an executive nine-hole course surround the resort. The location has hosted the LPGA and other premier golf events, as well as perennially hosting political conferences, such as national governors conferences and congressional caucuses.

Beginning in the early 1970s, the Kingsmill Resort was developed by Anheuser-Busch (A-B) as a portion of the brewing company's development of diversified activities in the Williamsburg area, which grew to include not only the brewery, but the Busch Gardens Williamsburg theme park, and large upscale developments of residential and office park properties. The St. Louis-based brewer invested in the area following negotiations held between August Busch, II and Winthrop Rockefeller, a son of Colonial Williamsburg's initial chief mentor, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Winthrop Rockefeller had been serving as both governor of Arkansas and chairman of Colonial Williamsburg in the 1960s and 1970s. (Water Country USA, a local water park, was acquired by A-B in the 1990s, and added to the company's theme park activities, which include a number of Sea World properties in other states as well).

Both Winthrop Rockefeller, who died in 1973, and August Busch II, who died in 1989 have been credited by some historians with helping develop the Greater Williamsburg area into one of the top tourism destinations in the world. They apparently felt that augmenting the attractions of the Historic Triangle of Colonial Virginia (Jamestown, Colonial Williamsburg, and Yorktown) with other attractions which would help draw future families to the region, as well as help balance out the local ecomnomy. Since their respective deaths, other family members of both the Rockefeller and Busch families have carried on much of those priorities, although as a brewer, A-B found itself increasingly in tough competition in an increasingly global market.

In 2009, after initially resisting an unsolicited stock bid, A-B announced it had reached an agreement to be acquired by the even larger Belgium-based InBev, the world's largest brewing company. The newer owners announced plans to sell-off the portions of A-B activities which were not part of the core beverage business as it worked to reduce debt incurred to fund the acquisition.

As A-B had been a major employer and strong community supporter for many years, there was widespread speculation and more than a little apprehension about who might ultimately acquire and control the theme parks, the resort, and other Busch developments in the region. Since then, the Blackstone Group acquired the company's 10 theme parks, including two near Williamsburg. Some leaders and citizens of Williamsburg, as well as James City County and York County have expressed both relief and optimism at the selections of Blackstone and Xanterra to operate the theme parks and resort respectively. While the key pieces of the future ownership and management of the brewery, both theme parks, and the resort subsequent to the InBev acquisition of all of A-B's properties and enterprises in the area have now been resolved, at least for the immediate future, the disposition of management of the Kinsgmill residential development's owner association and the several office and commercial property developments at McLaw's Circle in James City County and the Busch Corporate Center, an industrial park in York County, had not yet been announced as of July 2010.