MIAMI — The Miami Seaquarium is changing hands.
The Dolphin Company, a Mexico-based theme park operator, is buying the Virginia Key marine park from California-based Palace Entertainment, a subsidiary of Spanish theme park operator Parques Reunidos, for an undisclosed amount.
Miami Seaquarium will become The Dolphin Company’s fourth attraction in Florida, adding to its worldwide collection of 32 parks in eight countries. The company currently operates GulfWorld in Panama City Beach, Marineland in St. Augustine and Dolphin Connection in Duck Key.
“We are proud to announce the addition of Miami Seaquarium to our Dolphin Family, and are pleased to have the opportunity to bring our experience of more than 25 years with marine mammals to the most popular attraction in South Florida,” said Eduardo Albor, Chief Executive Officer of The Dolphin Company, in a statement.
The company doesn’t have any major changes planned for the park, a spokesperson said. That includes continuing to use Lolita the killer whale, the park’s star attraction, in shows. Animal rights activists have long protested at the Seaquarium, arguing that Lolita’s tank is too small and that she should be retired or released. Lolita was first captured off the coast of Washington 51 years ago.
First opened in 1955, the 38-acre Seaquarium hosted the TV show Flipper in the 1960s and was once home to the albino porpoise, Carolina Snowball. The park has said it draws around 500,000 visitors per year.
The park shut down in March of last year during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and reopened its doors in October.
The sale of the Seaquarium is expected to be finalized by the end of the year.
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