For more than 50 years, SeaWorld has enjoyed a prime spot along San Diego’s Mission Bay and a good relationship with the city. That may be changing.
The San Diego City Council voted unanimously this week to authorize a lawsuit against SeaWorld for rent payments the city says are owed for parts of 2020 and 2021 during the pandemic.
“I’m not OK with the city being disrespected by SeaWorld,” said council president Sean Elo-Rivera. “At a certain point, we have to draw a line in the sand and say that nobody is so special they shouldn’t pay their bills, especially when they have the means to do so,” Elo-Rivera fumed.
“It isn’t a small business that’s breaking under the weight of the pandemic, this is a corporation that just last week, in their quarterly reports for their investors, was touting record revenues and is just saying no," the councilman added.
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The city claims SeaWorld owes more than $10 million in overdue rent and another $2 million in fees and interest. City Attorney Mara Elliott told NBC 7 this isn’t something new. The city has been in talks to get the rent paid for months. Every other renter has paid their lease in full.
“This is a ridiculous position for them to take,” said Elliott. “They’re just thumbing their nose at the people who live here in the city and have leased them this prime real estate, this beautiful real estate, what an honor for them and then not to pay the city of San Diego, that’s ridiculous.”
Elliott said her office is already working to craft the lawsuit to recoup “every dime” owed the city. The lawsuit will be filed in the next 30 to 45 days unless SeaWorld brings a checkbook to the table.
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“The longer that they fiddle-faddle, the higher that amount is gonna get,” said Elliott.
Elo-Rivera suggested the decision to withhold payment likely came from SeaWorld San Diego’s parent corporation which is based in Florida. “The corporation, the ones who are deciding to flagrantly not pay their bills, they’re in Florida and I think that they’re, quite frankly, just giving a giant middle finger to the city of San Diego and to all of its residents.”
NBC 7 reached out to SeaWorld San Diego for reaction to the lawsuit. They sent us this statement:
“While as a matter of policy we don’t comment on potential litigation, we have enjoyed a long relationship with the City and remain hopeful that we can resolve this matter. We have partnered with the City for nearly 60 years – conducting thousands of animal rescues, numerous recycling drives and many other events. We also have paid more than $146 million in lease payments to the City of San Diego since 2010. We appreciate all the City has done and we look forward to addressing this situation.”
