Sponsorships, hotels and new rides: Lots in store at SeaWorld, Busch Gardens

The owner of SeaWorld and Busch Gardens hinted at some major announcements in the coming months as the company wants to open new hotels and lock down long-term sponsorship deals potentially worth more than $20 million.

Marc Swanson, CEO of the Orlando-based United Parks and Resorts, gave the updates during the company’s latest earnings call.

“In recent years, we have not pursued, nor had, meaningful sponsorship partnerships. Clearly, we have been missing this opportunity,” Swanson said.

“Starting late last year, we formalized a partnership with a third-party group and dedicated internal resources to pursuing this opportunity. Since then, we have had meaningful discussions with several potential sponsors, and expect to have exciting announcements in the coming months.”

Swanson also hinted at more big announcements coming since the company owns about 400 acres of undeveloped land. The company is planning to open hotels for the first time, bringing up Orlando once again as a place with “significant developable land.”

“We just want to make sure that we get into the best structure that is best for our shareholders and the best for the company,” Swanson said. “Those discussions have taken some time.”

Overall, the company’s first-quarter attendance was down about 2% — or about 59,000 visitors — compared to the same quarter last year. That’s due in part to the timing this year of Easter and Spring Break. Total revenue was about $287 million, a 3.5% decline from the same quarter last year.

Swanson kept an optimistic tone, telling analysts, “We have approximately 75% of our attendance and revenue opportunities still ahead of us.”

That means a busy Summer season, with SeaWorld Orlando opening a new flying theater ride and returning its after-hours special ticketed AquaGlow party at Aquatica Orlando. In Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, the park is opening a new family-friendly rain forest themed area.

Analysts asked the company’s executives about Epic Universe’s impact. Universal officially opens its new Orlando theme park next week that’s based off of popular characters from Harry Potter, How to Train Your Dragon, Super Nintendo World and Universal Monsters. Universal also said in 2023 it would start paying employees $17 an hour.

Is that going to pressure SeaWorld to raise its employees’ wages?

“We had planned for some labor increases for minimum wage across several different markets, not just Epic,” said company Chief Financial Officer Jim Mikolaichik.

SeaWorld has lagged behind Disney and Universal in worker pay. In 2021, the company was paying $13 an hour. It’s unclear if that amount has changed. SeaWorld Orlando did not immediately return a message for comment Monday morning to provide more details on the raises brought up in the earnings call.

Swanson also reiterated that more people visiting Orlando to see Epic Universe benefits SeaWorld Orlando in the long run.

“We’re going to focus on doing the things that have worked for us over a 50-year history here in Orlando,” Swanson said, adding the park can offer ticket packages or other deals to take advantage.