| |
I was just browsing Lego.com when I noticed this press release on Legoland
Germany. Thought everyone would be interested in seeing this, if they haven't
already. I copied onto this message, but you can view it and pics at
http://www.lego.com/info/pressspecific.asp?PressReleaseId=112&Year=2000
LEGOLAND Deutschland to open in 2002
The LEGOLAND Park in Günzburg in southern Germany will be completed a whole
year earlier than planned – a planning team is following an internal company
strategy – outstanding progress in planning has enabled the project to be sped
up.
LEGOLAND Deutschland in Günzburg (Bavaria) will be completed as early as the
summer of 2002, and not in 2003 as originally planned. This was announced
today, Wednesday 9th August, by LEGOLAND Planungs GmbH. Following an internal
strategy, the LEGO Company can thus maintain its originally planned opening
date of 2002.
“Our internal planning is going so well that we’ll have it completed by 2002”,
says general manager John Jakobsen. As a result of this, the park constructing
will begin within the next few weeks. The turnkey contractor Bovis Lend Lease
is in charge of the DEM 300 million project LEGOLAND Deutschland.
Speeding up
The internal strategy has provided the basis for the “speeding up” of the
project. It is based on an internal LEGO Company strategy, which aims to open
a new LEGOLAND Park every third year. After LEGOLAND Windsor (1996) and
LEGOLAND California (1999), the original plan was to complete LEGOLAND
Deutschland by the year 2002. Before Günzburg was chosen in September of last
year, it had been decided that the Park was going to be larger than planned.
“In order to keep our planning on schedule, the opening date was then set for
2003. However, during the past few weeks we have found that planning and
design are going so well that we’ll have the Park completed by 2002", says Mr.
Jakobsen.
1.2 million visitors
In co-operation with the planning team in California and top management at the
LEGO Company in Denmark, it was therefore decided that the Park should be
opened in 2002. However, the park will not open in spring, but in summer, just
before the start of the German holiday season; 1.2 million visitors are
expected during this short season in 2002, which will last until November.
During a “normal” season, which starts around Easter, LEGOLAND Deutschland
expects 1.5 million visitors.
A holiday camp will soon become a reality
The Preview Centre, which was supposed under the original plan to have been an
appetiser for the LEGOLAND Park from 2002, will not be built. “At the moment
we’re considering whether it’ll be possible to open a small Welcome Centre in
2001 or at the beginning of 2002”, Mr. Jakobsen says. But one thing is clear:
the whole LEGOLAND Park will be opened in the summer of 2002.
There are also plans for a holiday camp to be built in the LEGOLAND Park area.
LEGOLAND Planungs GmbH would also like to have this project completed by 2002.
There will be sites here for campervans, caravans, tents to rent, and huts for
overnight accommodation.
Bovis Lend Lease is the turnkey contractor
Bovis Lend Lease was chosen as the building and planning partner. This is an
international company with experience in larger projects and with a South
German branch based in Munich. Bovis Lend Lease has 10,500 employees worldwide
and it has participated in projects such as Centro Oberhausen, the Munich II
Airport and the American Express office buildings in Frankfurt.
The company will set up a project office at the LEGOLAND Park building site
and will handle all tenders. There are 30-50 individual tenders in all, and
these will involve local companies.
New employees are needed
The working group in LEGOLAND Planungs GmbH in Günzburg – more than a hundred
employees and external partners worldwide are now working on the project –
will have their hands full over the next two years or so. New employees are
urgently needed: “We’re looking for about ten employees within the fields of
marketing, human resources, finance, administration and IT at all levels”,
says Mr. Jakobsen.
LEGOLAND – built with the PC
In a few weeks time, all children who can’t wait until 2002 will be able to
build their own LEGOLAND Park on the computer. A CD-ROM containing all the
popular attractions in the park will be launched on 4th September in Germany.
More information on LEGOLAND Deutschland
The German LEGOLAND Park will be built in Günzburg in southern Germany at the
A8 motorway between Munich and Stuttgart. The Park will open in 2002. The main
target group is families with children aged 2-13 who will stay in the park for
an average of six hours.
The LEGOLAND Park will be open from Easter to November, but only from the
summer to November in the first season; 1.2 million visitors are expected
during the first year. There will be about 120 full-time employees and about
600 seasonal employees. There are already LEGOLAND Parks in Billund (Denmark),
Windsor (England) and Carlsbad (California/USA). The LEGOLAND Parks are a part
of the LEGO Company.
The LEGO Company is the world leader in the provision of quality products and
experiences to stimulate children’s creativity, imagination and learning via
games and activities which encourage hands-on, minds-on creation, fun,
togetherness and the sharing of ideas. The family-owned LEGO Company was
founded in Denmark in 1932. By the year 2005, the company wants the LEGO brand
to be the world leader among families with children.
|
|
1 Message in This Thread:
- Entire Thread on One Page:
- Nested:
All | Brief | Compact | Dots
Linear:
All | Brief | Compact
|
|
|
|
