Kentucky Kingdom, formerly known as Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom, is an amusement park in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. The park includes a collection of amusement rides and the Hurricane Bay water park. Kentucky Kingdom is located at the intersection of Interstate 65 and Interstate 264, sharing a parking lot with the Kentucky Exposition Center. In 1977, the Kentucky State Fair Board announced plans to build a theme park on the grounds of the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center. The park's construction, overseen by Kentucky Entertainment Limited, began in 1986 and cost $12 million in total. Kentucky Kingdom opened to the public on May 23, 1987. The park went bankrupt after one season, and was reopened in 1990 by businessman Ed Hart. Due to the park's success, Kentucky Kingdom was sold to Six Flags in 1998 who operated the park until 2009. Five years after Kentucky Kingdom closed, Ed Hart reopened the park on May 24, 2014. Seven years after Kentucky Kingdom reopened, the park's operating rights were sold to Herschend Family Entertainment. Kentucky Kingdom is owned by the Kentucky State Fair Board, and operated by Herschend Family Entertainment. Kentucky Kingdom has six roller coasters: Kentucky Flyer, Lightning Run, Roller Skater, Storm Chaser, T3, and Thunder Run. The park has opened many first-of-its-kind roller coasters. T3 was the first Vekoma Suspended Looping Coaster in North America. Lightning Run is the only Chance Rides Hyper GT-X Coaster in the world. Storm Chaser was the first roller coaster in the United States to feature a barrel roll drop. History Foundation (1977–87) Planning and construction The Kentucky State Fair Board released a long-range master plan for the redevelopment and expansion of the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center grounds on March 24, 1977, which included the construction of a theme park. The Fair Board suggested that the park should be divided into three sections: a turn-of-the-century village, a Daniel Boone town and a "unit devoted to Kentucky's mining industry." A few years later, the fair board began looking for a developer who could operate the planned park, and on November 21, 1985, signed a contract with Kentucky Entertainment Limited, headed by Dallas businessman Michael Jenkins. On December 13, 1985, at a press conference attended by Kentucky governor Martha Layne Collins and Louisville mayor Jerry Abramson, Kentucky Entertainment Limited and the Fair Board announced plans for Kentucky Kingdom, a 13-acre theme park focused on Kentucky's history