ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – A federal bankruptcy judge in Delaware put off a decision on the proposed sale of Marineland Dolphin Adventure, which sits near the St. Johns-Flagler county line, as a community coalition that wants to keep the marine park running voiced concerns, saying it was shut out from the bidding process.
Marineland, which has been open to the public since 1938, has been owned by Mexico-based The Dolphin Company since 2019.
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The Dolphin Company, which operates marine life attractions in eight countries, filed for bankruptcy in March. As part of the bankruptcy process, the company’s Florida assets, which also include the now-closed Gulf World Marine Park in Panama City Beach, were listed for sale.
From the start of Monday afternoon’s hearing, Judge Laurie S. Silverstein voiced concerns that the court filings on behalf of the current owners didn’t make it clear that the Marineland property was still operating and that it had a scientific research aspect, as opposed to a facility that was closed and was merely a real estate transaction.
Attorneys for The Dolphin Company wanted the judge to approve a sale to Delightful Developments LLC, a Texas-based real estate development company that was the successful bidder at a bankruptcy auction two weeks ago, with a final bid of $7.1 million.
A Northeast Florida developer, The Hutson Companies, was the initial bidder, submitting a $3.5 million “stalking horse” bid before the auction.
A stalking horse bid is used to set a baseline for a bankruptcy auction. Court records show that after that point, a $3.7 million bid was received, and bidding at the auction itself went for 34 rounds, with bids going in increments of $50,000.
Hutson Companies was designated the backup bidder with a final bid of $7,050,000.
Monday afternoon, the judge said that reviewing objections to the sale that were recently filed with the court gave a clearer picture of what Marineland is, with people across the country writing about the historic nature of the attraction, the scientific value, and asking that those things not be lost with a sale to a real estate developer.
One of the objections came from Jack Kassewitz, who testified during the hearing, which was conducted over Zoom.
Kassewitz is one of the leaders of a group working to save Marineland. He told the judge that they brought on a former manager of the attraction, and created a budget that shows it can be successful as a business.
They had drawn in the backing of a private family fund that was prepared to bid $4 million for Marineland and put up an additional $1.5 million toward operations, if this coalition was able to purchase the facility and keep it operational.
“What happened to us, we were shut out,” Kassewitz told the judge, explaining the group had been told by the firm handling the owners’ restructuring that they would be allowed to bid at the auction, before being told two days later that they couldn’t.
Hearing those concerns, the judge said she thought the coalition really wanted her to reopen the auction, but that the question was whether or not she should do that, reiterating that the coalition needs to understand that the current high bid is more than $7 million, which was $3 million more than their bid.
The judge declined to make a decision about whether the timeline of the auction and who was allowed to bid was appropriate or not.
The judge said the potential sale, and any steps to reopen the auction, will be discussed again at a hearing next Monday.
Originally, the hearing was also set to take up the potential sale of three dolphins at Marineland.
Theater of the Sea in Islamorada in the Florida Keys 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.
Court documents show the purchase agreement was later changed to include a third dolphin, a 39-year-old female named Sandy.
Following the discussion about the potential sale of Marineland, no action was taken regarding the dolphins.
The community coalition has launched a GoFundMe aimed at raising money for their legal expenses associated with the bid.
The hearing did result in the judge approving the 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, with a final bid of $4.55 million.
During the hearing, it was made clear that Gulf World is closed, with no dolphins or other animals on site. That transaction is expected to close no later than Dec. 2.