SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — The City of San Diego is suing SeaWorld for more than $12 million over unpaid rent.
SeaWorld San Diego is one of the most popular theme parks in California and attracts tens of thousands of visitors every year.
"We've had a long relationship that's been very beneficial for the both of us and for them not to pay is an affront to the people of San Diego," said City Attorney Mara Elliott.
Elliott said SeaWorld is required to pay a minimum of $10.4 million to lease out nearly 200 acres of city-owned land in Mission Bay.
She said during the pandemic, SeaWorld started to shortchange the city in rent payments.
"They're [SeaWorld] saying that they lost money during the pandemic because the State of California had COVID orders in place," Elliott said.
But so did everyone else, she said. She added that the city offered to work with the theme park to pay down its debt.
"They had an opportunity to work with us, to do a deferral plan so that they can pay rent over a period of time," Elliot said. "They have never met us halfway to even have those discussions."
Now, the city is demanding SeaWorld to pay $12.23 million in back rent, penalties and interest.
The complaint states SeaWorld earned $1.7 billion in revenue last year, according to its annual report.
The theme park also brought in $293 million during the first quarter of this year.
"When we don't have that money in our fund, we can't use it for things that are important to people, like fixing streets or keeping our libraries open. That's what counts because someone's going to pay. It should be SeaWorld. It shouldn't be us," Elliot said.
In a statement to ABC 10News, SeaWorld said it has paid more than $146 million in lease payments to the city since 2010.
"While as a matter of policy we don't comment on potential litigation, we have enjoyed a long relationship with the city and remain hopeful that we can resolve this matter," the statement said.
