Pima County has identified a new owner to take over Old Tucson Studios, which closed in 2020.
The county recommends American Heritage Railways take control of the Southern Arizona landmark, acting County Administrator Jan Lesher announced in a memo to the Board of Supervisors on Friday.
The board will vote on approving an operating agreement with American Heritage Railways as the new owner of Old Tucson at its April 5 meeting.
American Heritage Railways, which is working with the county under a subsidiary corporation called Old Tucson Entertainment LLC, calls itself a “heritage tourism company based on the preservation of railroad history.”
The company has specialized in operating historic railroad equipment for more than 25 years, according to the memo. It’s a top-five licensor for live themed events with Warner Bros and owns three tourist railroads, a scenic bus company and a historic frontier hotel.
Allen Harper, who founded the company, serves as the chief executive officer and chairman of American Heritage Railways. He has over 25 years of experience with historic railways, theme parks, hotels and other tourist attractions, according to the county.
Under the proposed contract, American Heritage Railways would operate Old Tucson Studios as a “public Western Frontier-type recreational and entertainment venue.”
The operating agreement would last for five years with two possible 10-year extensions and one 25-year extension.
The company would pay Pima County $60,000 annually to rent the property and 4% of its annual gross operating revenue. The county says those funds will go toward capital maintenance and expansion.
In addition to keeping the facility open to the public with full services, the contract requires American Heritage Railways to provide youth educational services, make “commercially reasonable” efforts to promote Tucson as a UNESCO City of Gastronomy and act to sustainably conserve the facility and nearby Tucson Mountain Park.
Old Tucson, the setting of more than 400 feature films and TV shows, closed in August 2020 after the pandemic halted the crowd-based events that drew visitors to the historic location.
The county took over control of the 180 acres of land leased to former owner Old Tucson Co. when it announced it would be terminating its 25-year lease due to financial troubles onset by the pandemic. The company had leased the property since 1973.
Two companies responded to the county’s solicitation for a new operator of Old Tucson and a seven-member committee selected American Heritage Railways to move forward with the process. The company was issued an Intent to Negotiate in September.
