California Coastal Commission to undertake a one-year pilot program<\/a> \u2014 the first of its kind in the state \u2014 that allowed it to conduct up to 110 15-minute drone shows, each using as many as 1,000 illuminated autonomous aircraft.<\/p>\nDuring the summer, the park substituted its normal fireworks shows with drone light displays, and only once \u2014 on July 4 \u2014 did it launch fireworks.<\/p>\n
City Council President Joe LaCava acknowledged Tuesday that more than a year ago he said nightly fireworks at SeaWorld must end. But he also conceded that the council can\u2019t necessarily mandate a complete ban should drones prove not to be an acceptable alternative to shooting off fireworks.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe absence of fireworks (during the summer) had a positive impact on wildlife and water quality in Mission Bay,\u201d LaCava said. \u201cWhile we\u2019ve all seen and heard positive community reactions, we need to see whether drones will continue to be permitted by the Coastal Commission. Additionally, some flexibility needs to be in place for other options if drones are found not to be a suitable replacement or banned by any level of government or limited by future legislation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Toward that end, LaCava proposed an amendment to the master plan update that would prohibit SeaWorld from staging more than 30 fireworks displays per year in the event the Coastal Commission approves the use of drones. The park\u2019s previous 2002 master plan had allowed up to 150 fireworks shows per year. That was cut to 60 in the updated plan presented by SeaWorld.<\/p>\n
The council voted in favor of LaCava\u2019s added language, which also notes that \u201cSeaWorld is committed to pursuing drone displays as the preferred part of a general package of nighttime entertainment.\u201d Absent Tuesday was Councilmember Vivian Moreno.<\/p>\n
Councilmember Marni von Wilpert said she was grateful to SeaWorld for transitioning from fireworks to drone shows, which she described as \u201cpretty cool.\u201d<\/p>\n
She added, \u201cHaving the aquatic animals in the air is a pretty awesome display, and I\u2019ve heard from a lot of my residents that they actually prefer them.\u201d<\/p>\n
SeaWorld San Diego President Tyler Carter, in a presentation summarizing the park\u2019s more than100-page master plan, highlighted the park\u2019s move toward staging drone shows for its nighttime summer entertainment but didn\u2019t rule out the continuation of fireworks displays.<\/p>\n
\u201cNighttime entertainment is critical to park attendance and revenue, especially over the summer season,\u201d he said. \u201cWhile we still look forward to fireworks shows on traditional holidays like Fourth of July and maybe at some point a World Series win, drones are definitely a preferred, emerging nighttime entertainment for the foreseeable future.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also let the council know that \u201cwe welcome the opportunity to do fireworks shows responsibly.\u201d<\/p>\n
The council did hear from some members of the public who urged the council to terminate fireworks at SeaWorld. Environmental groups like the San Diego Bird Alliance and the Coastal Environmental Rights Foundation argued that the Planning Commission\u2019s recommendation to permanently end the shows was a reasonable one.<\/p>\n
\u201cGiven the long-term nature of this project, we think it\u2019s reasonable to keep that provision in place,\u201d said Rachel Stewart of the coastal nonprofit. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t require any immediate changes, but it recognizes that alternatives to traditional fireworks already exist and continue to improve over time. Keeping this recommendation simply preserves flexibility for the future while allowing SeaWorld to adapt as better options become available.\u201d<\/p>\n
SeaWorld\u2019s updated master plan covers a broad range of issues that go well beyond fireworks shows, from the long-term redevelopment of the 189-year leasehold and design guidelines to a brand new component: sustainability, which calls for improved energy efficiency, water conservation, waste reduction, climate resiliency and marine life protection in keeping with the city\u2019s own sustainability goals.<\/p>\n
Also covered in the new plan are proposals for several alternative ways to get to and from the park, such as new pedestrian and bicycle improvements along SeaWorld Drive that will make walking and biking safer and easier, city staff explained. There are also plans to expand bicycle parking and plug-in stations for e-bikes and electric vehicles, improvements to bus shelter areas and support for alternative transportation for employees.<\/p>\n
SeaWorld began working on the update in 2018, but it was delayed for several reasons, beginning with the onset of the pandemic in 2020 when theme parks in California were shut down for many months. Following that was a protracted dispute between SeaWorld and the city of San Diego over millions of dollars in back rent that culminated in a lawsuit that was eventually settled. The park also spent months working with the Coastal Commission on its permit to undertake nighttime drone shows this year.<\/p>\n
Although there are differences between the previous master plan and the now-approved update, the latest version doesn\u2019t spell out specific new projects or attractions. Rather, it carries over several key developments that were called out in the 2002 plan but never moved forward. Among them are a special events center, parking garage, transit station, a marina expansion that would add 115 water berths, and a 300-room hotel bordering Perez Cove Way.<\/p>\n
The park itself, which occupies 97 acres, has been leasing the city-owned waterfront site since the early 1960s.<\/p>\n
Plans were in the works for a SeaWorld-branded hotel more than a decade ago when the park formed a partnership with San Diego-based Evans Hotels to develop the project. The park\u2019s parent company canceled the deal three years later, offering no explanation for its change of heart. However, a lawsuit filed in late 2018 by Evans Hotels claimed that escalating demands by organized labor to unionize Evans\u2019 Bahia resort on Mission Bay played a key role in killing the deal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SeaWorld was put on notice Tuesday by San Diego\u2019s elected leaders that it needs to phase out most…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":495747,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[387,181,23,74,76,75,1696,5277],"class_list":["post-495746","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-business","tag-latest-headlines","tag-local-news","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-headlines","tag-san-diego-news","tag-top-stories-sdut","tag-tourism"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/495746","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=495746"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/495746\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/495747"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=495746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=495746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=495746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}