History
Macquarie Leisure Trust (1998–2009)
Coast Entertainment began in 1998 as Macquarie Leisure Trust, a listed trust managed by Macquarie Leisure Operations, a subsidiary of Macquarie Bank. [6] [7] The trust acquired the existing Dreamworld theme park in July 1998 [6] for A$100.3 million. [8] In November 1999, it purchased d'Albora Marinas, a provider of berth and marina facilities, for A$36.3 million. [9]
Macquarie Leisure acquired the Cabarita Point Marina for its D'Albora Marinas business in January 2004. [10] In October 2004, Macquarie Leisure acquired AMF Bowling's Australian business for A$67.4 million. [11] In August 2006, it announced that it would acquire the Texas-based family entertainment centre operator Main Event Entertainment. [12] Later that year, it opened WhiteWater World, a new water park constructed on the Gold Coast. [13] [14]
In July 2007, Macquarie Leisure announced it would acquire Goodlife Health Clubs for $60 million. At the time, Goodlife had 18 health clubs across Queensland, Victoria and New South Wales. [15]
Ardent Leisure (2009–2023)
In August 2009, management of Macquarie Leisure Trust was internalised and it was renamed Ardent Leisure Group, ending its connection with Macquarie Group. [16] In November 2009, Ardent Leisure acquired the QDeck observation deck for A$13.3 million. [17]
In April 2015, Deborah Thomas, former editor of Cleo and other magazines, was appointed as chief executive officer (CEO) of Ardent Leisure. [18] [19] Thomas was replaced on 9 June 2017 when Simon Kelly was appointed as CEO and Managing Director. [20]
In August 2016, Ardent sold the Goodlife Health Clubs business to Quadrant Private Equity for $260 million. [21] In December that year, Ardent Leisure sold its d'Albora Marinas division for A$126 million to a special purpose vehicle owned by Goldman Sachs and Balmain Corporation. [22] In December 2017, Ardent sold its Australian bowling and arcade businesses (AMF, Kingpin and Playtime) to The Entertainment and Education Group for A$160 million. [23]
In June 2020, RedBird Capital Partners acquired a 24.2% stake in Main Event. [24] On 6 April 2022, competitor Dave & Buster's announced its intent to wholly acquire Main Event from Ardent and RedBird for US$835 million (A$1.1 billion); former Main Event CEO Chris Morris was retained, and was made the CEO of Dave and Buster's. [25] [26] [24]
Coast Entertainment (2023–present)
Ardent Leisure changed its name to Coast Entertainment Holdings in December 2023. [27]
Coast lodged an application with the Gold Coast City Council on 18 September 2023 to rezone and develop three parcels of land owned by Coast on which Dreamworld and WhiteWater World operate.
On 26 August 2025 the Planning Minister proposed to call in the development. On 26 October 2025, the Planning Minister called in the development. On 21 November 2025, the Planning Minister issued Coast with an Information Request. [28]
Amusement Park Licence
In response to the Thunder River Rapids Ride incident, the Queensland Government introduced the Work Health and Safety (Amusement Devices—Public Safety) Amendment Regulation 2019 requiring major theme parks, including Dreamworld, to have a major amusement park licence. [34]
The legislation required the regulator to be satisfied that the operator is able to ensure that amusement devices at the major amusement park do not expose, or potentially expose, a person to a serious risk to health or safety. [35]
Coast Entertainment (then Ardent Leisure) was granted Queensland's first Major Amusement Park Licence by Workplace Health and Safety Queensland in August 2022. [36]
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