Bell's Amusement Park was a small amusement park located in Tulsa's Expo Square, part of the Tulsa County Fairground in Oklahoma. The park was founded in 1951 by Robert Bell with a small collection of rides and amusements including a three car train and a Shetland pony ride. This would later grow into third generation controlled family amusement tradition with over 50 rides and attractions.
In April 1997, 14-year-old Patrick Kurek was killed on the Wildcat roller coaster from a car malfunctioning and catapulting Kurek to his death. The ride was later removed from the park.
The park was forced to relinquish its position at the Square at the end of the 2006 season when the county did not renew its lease. The reason given for the park's removal was nonviable business plans even though the 2006 season was the most successful the park had seen for years and expansion plans were underway. The park paid $135,000 to the Expo in 2006 and a total of $12.5 million since 1951. The midway for the Tulsa State Fair was provided by Jerry Murphy, owner of Murphy Brothers Exposition and Bell's main competitor. The carnival company was granted, in 2006, a 10-year, non-competitive contract to operate the Tulsa State Fair midway. The 2006 contract included the right of first refusal to expand Murphy's operation into the Bell's tract during the State Fair, if Bell's was no longer a tenant.
The park has announced plans to move elsewhere, but as of fall 2007 the rides sit in a warehouse. Many locations around Northeast-Oklahoma have been surveyed for the new home of Bell's, but as of November 2007 there has been no official word as to when an announcement will be made in regards to an official location for the park. Their website has been taken down and rumors are that the park will not reopen. As of November 2008, no future plans for the park have been announced, after Sally Bell's loss when she ran for County Commissioner (which oversees the fairgrounds that removed her family's business). It is now a defunct amusement park with no address.
In 2010, Wagoner county Oklahoma worked a deal with the Bell Family to potentially place the park in Coweta, Oklahoma. On May 25, 2010 Robbie Bell signed a 50-year lease with a 25-year option with the county. This deal depended on the voters approving a quarter-cent tax increase to finance building the park; it was to go on the ballot in July 2010. But, the question was removed by county commissioners from the ballot before it could be voted on.
Early in 2012, the Bell family installed a few kiddie rides at the Tulsa Saturday Flea Market. According to their Facebook page, they are continuously looking to expand and install more rides around the property.
Read more about Bell's Amusement Park: Impact To The 2007 Tulsa State Fair, Wildcat Roller Coaster Malfunction
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