Financial Analyst to SeaWorld: Sell Your Park

According to Jason Bazinet of multi-national financial services corporation Citi, the time has come for SeaWorld to close the doors of its Orlando, FL aquatic park. While media attention has been focused on SeaWorld’s San Diego location, declined attendance in Orlando indicates that the company’s financial troubles—namely, an 84 percent plummet in profits—aren’t just confined to California. According to Bazinet, the Orlando location (one of SeaWorld’s 13 parks) has experienced an attendance decrease of 407,000, losing visitors to competitors such as Universal Orlando. Prompted by the release of the 2013 eye-opening CNN documentary Blackfish and exacerbated by One Direction’s Harry Styles, who called for a boycott of the marine park during a recent concert, SeaWorld’s image is beyond repair and Bazinet advises the company sells its Orlando park to either Disney or Comcast.