'Hunger Games' Amusement Park Project Shuts Down

EMERSON, GA -- Plans to bring an amusement park that would have included attractions from "The Hunger Games" to north Georgia have been placed on hold.

That's according to an open letter released by AVATRON Park Chairman David Garrett III, which said after two years of planning and fundraising, the much-anticipated project is "closing its doors."

The reason for this sudden abandonment of plans? According to Garrett, one of the key partners in the venture was forced to suspend its participation in the project.

"While many would encourage us to look at this as simply a timing situation, we are of the shared belief that no more time can be given or pushed back," he said. "Therefore, the AVATRON project is being placed on hold indefinitely."

Garrett went on to say organizers were grateful for the support and hospitality shown by Bartow County residents and stakeholders.

"The leadership in Bartow County and Georgia did everything possible to aid our efforts and we grew to treasure all that is so special about this wonderful community," the company said. "If this is goodbye, we thank you one last time for your generosity and belief in AVATRON. If this is a ”not-yet” situation, then we thank you for your patience and understanding."

Records from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs’ Developments of Regional Impact show the park would have been situated along 712 acres on Paga Mine Road in Emerson, which sits just south of Cartersville.

According to the company’s DRI filing with the state, AVATRON Park was billed as a “totally immersive, technology driven theme park drawing on the expertise of Hollywood’s leading visual effects professionals.”

Plans called for the project to include up to two hotels, retail operations and possibly a music performance venue, according to the initial DRI filing with the state.

The company coins the development as a next-generation theme park “built on the crossroads of where entertainment meets fantasy and perception becomes reality.”

Attractions in development for the park would have also featured newly created intellectual property, along with high-profile gaming and movie industry intellectual property including Lionsgate’s cultural phenomenon, The Hunger Games.

Lionsgate had announced its licensing, for the first time in North America, of The Hunger Games, Step Up and Now You See Me franchises as part of their partnership agreement with AVATRON.

Graphic via AVATRON