ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – New court documents suggest two of the bottlenose dolphins at Marineland Dolphin Adventure could be moved to a facility in the Florida Keys within a matter of weeks, as the storied attraction’s current owner moves through the bankruptcy process.
The attraction, which opened to the public in 1938, sits near the St. Johns-Flagler county line. Its owner, Mexico-based The Dolphin Company, filed for bankruptcy in March. As part of the bankruptcy process, the company’s Florida assets, which also include Gulf World Marine Park in Panama City Beach, were listed for sale.
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Following a bankruptcy auction held Oct. 13, a company named Delightful Development LLC was named the successful bidder, with a purchase price of $7.1 million. No company with that name exists in Florida corporation records, though the name is registered in several other states.
A revised purchase agreement filed with the court on Wednesday lists Craig Cavileer as the contact for Delightful Development LLC. Texas corporation records show Delightful Development was registered in July with a Fort Worth address and Cavileer as its manager.
Delightful Development’s bid came after northeast Florida developer The Hutson Companies placed an initial bid for Marineland. Court documents filed in early October showed Hutson Companies had offered $3.5 million in a “stalking horse” bid, which is an initial bid that sets a baseline for a bankruptcy auction. Hutson’s bid came after a real estate company solicited initial offers over the summer, and the bid was chosen as the best of those offers. As the stalking horse bidder, Hutson will receive a $70,000 “break-up fee” if the property is eventually sold to another bidder.
Other court documents filed Wednesday provide additional details about the proposed sale of two of Marineland’s dolphins. Theater of the Sea in Islamorada in the Florida Keys has offered $500,000 for two of the park’s common bottlenose dolphins, Capri and Soleil. Capri, a 12-year-old gray female, and Soleil, a 9-year-old gray female, arrived at Marineland over the summer from Gulf World Marine Park, following that facility’s closure, according to an Instagram post by Marineland.
An animal purchase agreement filed with the court states the dolphins are to be transferred from Marineland to Theater of the Sea within 15 days of the purchase being finalized.
Before either sale can be finalized, it must be approved by a bankruptcy judge in Delaware. A hearing is set for Monday to consider the deals, as well as the proposed sale of Gulf World Marine Park. By the Sea Resorts, a family-owned hospitality company based in Panama City Beach that operates six beachfront hotels and resorts, two beachfront restaurants, and five off-the-beach hotels in that region, was the successful bidder following that property’s bankruptcy auction.