The board of directors of Sweden's Liseberg theme park has voted to rebuild its Oceana waterpark, which was nearly destroyed in a fire while under construction earlier this year.
Oceana Water World was to offer 14 attractions, including four White Water slides, some of which were to be the first of their model in Europe. The 3.5-acre mostly indoor water park had been set to open this summer, before the February blaze that killed a construction manager.
Liseberg management considered demolishing the entire site and proceeding with an alternate project. But the board's study determined that "a complete overhaul would entail write-downs of large values, and is also not justifiable from a sustainability perspective," according to a statement released by Liseberg.
"We believe we now have sufficient data to be able to make a formal decision on the rebuild," Liseberg CEO and President Andreas Andersen said. "Based on the various scenarios we have developed, there is really no alternative to completing the project."
The board said that some changes will be made to the original design, but that the rebuild will proceed "according to the same main principles as in the original project."
Investigations into the cause of the deadly fire are continuing, with results expected by spring. As a result, Liseberg will need to bridge-finance the reconstruction, with the City of Gothenburg - which owns Liseberg - also possibly providing a bridge loan.
Oceana is now set for a 2026 debut.
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