South Jersey’s century-old amusement park is back up for auction
Bids for the sprawling Camden County property will start at $1.5 million.
The 119-year-old Clementon Park & Splash World is heading back to auction just weeks after announcing its closure and five years after it was purchased at a bankruptcy auction.
Potential buyers can either continue operating the park, spanning more than 50 acres in Camden County, as an amusement destination or redevelop the property in a variety of ways, including as a hotel or for retail, residential, or entertainment uses, according to the property listing.
The public auction is set to begin Oct. 19 at noon with bids starting at $1.5 million, the listing shows. The 48-hour auction window is scheduled to close at noon on Oct. 21.
IB Parks & Entertainment bought the park for $2.37 million in the 2021 bankruptcy auction after financial struggles forced the park to shut down suddenly two years earlier.
The company operated the park for five seasons before announcing its closure at the end of Labor Day weekend this year.
» READ MORE: Clementon’s century-old amusement and water park is closing again
“After five memorable years, we are saddened to announce that we have made the difficult decision to close the park and plan to offer the park for sale,” the company said in a statement announcing the closure on its website and social media accounts earlier this month. “It has been a privilege to care for a place that has meant so much to generations of families.”
At the time of the closure, the park was one of five amusement properties owned by the company, including West Berlin’s Sahara Sam’s.
IB Parks & Entertainment did not respond to requests for comment.
Clementon Park opened in 1907 as the brainchild of state Assembly member Theodore B. Gibbs and his sons and quickly became a popular destination for families across South Jersey.
After years of being independently owned by various families, the park was bought by its first private amusement park operation company in 2007.
With various management companies at the helm over the next decade, the park expanded significantly with the addition of new thrill rides, children’s attractions, and a 23,000-square-foot wave pool.
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