Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Photo : Vanity Fair)
The quiet purchase by Disney of three adjoining tracts of land in California estimated at $60 million has led to speculations that the company would build another theme park, possibly focusing on "Star Wars" characters or Marvel heroes.
The speculations were fueled by Disney's purchase in 2009 of Marvel and in 2012 Lucasfilm, the owner of the entire "Star Wars" franchise. Although it is five months away, the showing of "Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens" in December has excited fans of the movie franchise as the last "Star Wars" movie was shown 10 years ago.
However, Fortune reports that Disney spokeswoman Suzi Brown doused cold water on the speculation as she stated that the 14.7-acre land would be used as additional support infrastructure such as warehouse, office space and parking.
Disney has promised Anaheim City to invest $1 billion by 2024 in the California Adventure theme park in exchange for no collection of entertainment tax for 30 years. Brown said that expansion plans would be within the resort's vicinity.
Buying property that are for sale near Disneyland is a practice of the entertainment company, Brown added. Its latest acquisition have office buildings - one has a long-term tenant - and an independently operated motel. The other office building would be used by Disney for behind-the-scenes operations.
"Star Wars" is expected to generate $2.2 billion for Disney globally when it is shown by the yearend that several analysts have made "buy" ratings for the company's stocks which have enjoyed almost 45 percent growth in the past 12 months.
