Dolly Parton looking to duplicate success of Dollywood in Nashville

Dolly Parton's Dollywood Company is partnering with Gaylord Entertainment to build a new 114-acre theme park in Nashville adjacent to Gaylord's Opryland Resort and Convention Center.

Parton's Dollywood is one of the great success stories of the theme park industry, becoming a huge tourist attraction in the tiny town of Pigeon Forge, TN. The park employs 3,000 people, making it the biggest employer in that area of the state, and has won numerous international awards for both its rides and its entertainment.

The new complex would start with the country's first combination water and snow park which would break ground in late-2012/early-2013 and be complete for the summer of 2014. An additional 35-acres will be available for future expansion. Projections have first year attendance at 500,000.

Colin V. Reed, Chairman and CEO of Gaylord Entertainment, was at the Grand Ole Opry House on Thursday with Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam for the announcement, saying "We are thrilled by the prospect of bringing to Nashville a family focused entertainment center with one of the preeminent theme park owners and operators in the country. I am confident this proposed attraction, which will be a destination not only for our hotel guests but also for the entire Nashville community, will meaningfully enhance our transient and leisure strategy by providing a fun, family environment at the doorstep of the Opryland Hotel. With Dolly Parton's country music legacy and strong ties to Nashville, we can think of no better partner for this venture than Dolly's Dollywood Company"