6 August 2021 | AdventHealth, the Adventist hospital network headquartered in Altamonte, Florida, has purchased The Holy Land Experience, a theme park, for $32 million.

AdventHealth plans to convert the theme park into a medical campus to serve Orlando residents.

Discussing the purchase, AdventHealth Comms Director Amy Pavuk-Gentry said to the Orlando Business Journal, “it’s important that residents have access to health care that’s close to home, convenient and comprehensive.”

The 15-acre Holy Land Experience was a Christian theme park that was previously owned by Trinity Broadcasting Network.

“Since its founding, the attraction has been overt about its mission to proselytize as well as educate and entertain. The park boasted theatrical productions and reenactments of stories from the life of Jesus and the Hebrew Scriptures. The Christian community Live Church Orlando holds its worship services in its 2,000-seat Church of All Nations theater,” reported Religion News Service.

RNS reported the park had suffered financially despite the fact that it’s openly religious mission and an annual day of free admission has exempted it from property taxes in Florida. The park has been closed since March 2000 due to the pandemic but opened for two free admission days in April 2021.

Trinity Broadcasting Network announced in January 2020, that the park would focus on displaying biblical artifacts and education while ending live performances and reenactments. It laid off 118 employees the following month.

According to RNS, the sale of The Holy Land Experience to AdventHealth closed on August 2.

Image: The Holy Land Experience theme park in Orlando, Florida. Photo by Zfigueroa/Creative Commons

To comment, click here.

Before you go…
Your financial support allows us to keep growing the best thing about Adventist Today: our international family of readers, writers and other contributors.
Since the start of the pandemic we have expanded from being an independent news and commentary publisher to actively engaging and growing our AT community via features such as our weekly Sabbath Seminar gathering and AT1, our weekly on-demand vespers program.
In a time of uncertainty when much of the world still suffers from indoor isolation, being part of the AT community means more than ever.
Your support has allowed the AT family to grow in diversity as more and more writers, presenters and musicians have joined our family from around the world. No lockdown can stop the growth we’ve experienced together.
We couldn’t have grown like this without your support.
Thank you for giving generously to build the future of AT. Donate to Adventist Today by clicking here: atoday.org/donate