Old Tucson operator makes tracks away from park & film set; Pima County looks at next steps

Pima County officials are working to determine the fate of historic Old Tucson Studios after the company that has operated the site decided to not renew its lease next year.

It’s not clear how the site might change after the current lease’s expiration on April 4, 2027, Diane Frisch, director of the county’s Attractions and Tourism Department, said this week.

American Heritage Railways, which has leased and operated Old Tucson since 2022, notified the county of its final decision to not renew the deal on Sept. 14. A memorandum on Pima County’s website mentions officials received that notification about nine days later.

Old Tucson Studios, a theme park and historic Western movie set, sits at 201 S. Kinney Rd., on the west side of Gates Pass.

Pima County and the Colorado-based tourism and historic railroad company negotiated for months over the terms of a potential new lease after American Heritage Railways declined to sign a 10-year extension.

Frisch and John Harper, the chief operating officer for American Heritage Railways and founder of subsidiary company Old Tucson Entertainment, both said in June they hoped to reach a shorter-term agreement.

Harper also told the Tucson Sentinel then that the aprk hadn’t yielded enough profits to justify extending the lease by a decade.

Frisch said she planned to speak with the Pima County Board of Supervisors at their next scheduled meeting, on Nov. 10, to find out how they want to see the property used.

Since American Heritage Railways initially declined the lease extension, Frisch said, the county has been approached by several interested operators.

“We’ve been pitched a little bit of everything,” she said.

One proposed keeping the Wild West theme, but adding a track for old “jalopies” to race on, she said, while another wanted to harken back to its roots as a movie studio and add a soundstage.

One even suggested making it into a large-scale immersive “art experience,” reminiscent of Meow Wolf locations scattered around the Southwest United States, she added.

Members of the public have also reached out to offer suggestions for Old Tucson, such as improving its dining options and adding educational programs, said Frisch.

“Everybody continues to say, ‘We love Old Tucson,'” said Frisch. “And then you ask them ‘How often do you go there?'”

Old Tucson Studios shut down in 2020, while owned by now-defunct Old Tucson Company, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It reopened in 2022 under the management of Old Tucson Entertainment, under American Heritage Railways.

Frisch said she didn’t expect the park would be empty for that long.
Even if the county was unable to immediately find a new leaseholder, she said, Attractions and Tourism is still open to hosting concerts and other special events in the interim.

“A property is best when it’s used,” she said.

Upon the 2022 reopening of the park, American Heritage Railways revived seasonal events like the holiday-themed “Yuletide” and “Nightfall,” a series of Halloween-themed happenings that run through the end of the holiday on Saturday.

Old Tucson in June was also the site of re-inauguration of a LGBTQ pride event, formerly known as Gay West, which first ran from 1996 to 2009.

The event this year was renamed OutWest and drew hundreds.

Pima County has owned Old Tucson since 1939, after Universal Studios built it as a backdrop for the western film “Arizona.”

It was an especially popular filming location during what’s called the “Golden Age of the Western,” between the 1940s and ’60s, when it hosted numerous famous actors, including former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, along with Kirk Douglas, John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara.

The has been the set of more than 400 movies and commercials, even after a 1995 fire claimed about half of the park’s buildings.

An attempt to reach American Heritage Railways for comment on Friday was unsuccessful.

A receptionist at the company said the southwest Colorado area was hit that day with widespread flooding, which could impede American Heritage Railways leaders’ ability to respond.