Developer, Design Firm Plan Theme Park in Irwindale

SEAL BEACH — A local theme park development company has teamed with an Irvine design firm to explore the possibility of building a major theme park in Irwindale.

Richard Battaglia, president of Battaglia Associates in Irvine, confirmed Wednesday that his company and U.S. Entertainment Centers Inc. of Seal Beach are proposing to build a Disneyland-style park. The theme of the attraction and the types of rides have yet to be decided, he said.

Tentative plans for the park were presented at an Irwindale City Council meeting last month. A feasibility study is underway, the partners told council members, and several sites are under consideration, the most likely being an abandoned quarry off the San Gabriel River Freeway.

Battaglia, whose firm has designed theme parks in the Far East, said the project could cost as much as $100 million. Funding will be arranged after the concept is more fully developed, he said.

“This is not going to be a quick solution,” Battaglia said. “It will be quite a long process.”

Though Southern California already has five major theme parks, Battaglia said, there is room for a sixth. In Florida, he noted, a Universal Studios park in Orlando has been a success even though it is close to Walt Disney World, with its three major parks, and a Sea World park. Visitors simply extend their trips, he said, so they can visit several attractions.