Coney Island to move Downunder?

To cap off 2008 comes an reportedly real -- albeit far-fetched -- story about the famed Astroland amusement park at Coney Island in New York City. In light of development woes at the history Brooklyn landmark, a team of Australian entrepreneurs look keen to scoop up the park and recreate it at the Gold Coast, Australia's theme park capital.

In light of a failure to come to an agreement between the past owners -- and current operators -- and its current owners, the future of Astroland, a classic amusement park on the foreshore of the Coney Island beach in Brooklyn, New York, has been in doubt in recent years. As the ongoing saga continues, the only thing that looks certain is that Astroland as it currently stands looks set to disappear.

In recent weeks however reports have surfaced that 'The Oliver Group', led by Sydney Matthews and Timothy Oliver, have been in discussion with the owners of the many rides that make up Astroland and have also engaged in discussions with Gold Coast Mayor Ron Clarke which the Group's own press releases describe as "successful". Their plans are to relocate the amusement park to give it a new lease of life on the Gold Coast, already home to Australia's five largest theme parks.

The iconic 81-year-old Cyclone roller coaster, which stands at Astroland looks to be safe from removal as it holds status as a New York City landmark, as well as being declared a National Historic Landmark. The bulk of the attractions that make up Astroland are not classic amusement attractions but rather more modern carnival-style rides.

The Group's press releases state that every single piece of Astroland that can me successfully dismantled and relocated and anything that can't be moved will be reconstructed. Despite the Cyclone's security in New York City, The Oliver Group wants to clone the roller coaster from original plans.

Perhaps most bizarre is the Group's intention to even relocate soil from Astroland for the sake of authenticity.

Likening the project to the sale of the London Bridge from England to the US in 1967, marketing manager Timothy Oliver stated: "We are stealing one of America’s true icons – from the city the proclaims itself the number one city in the world – and we are bringing the last vistages [sic] of Coney Island to Australia!"

The Oliver Group's plans were briefly documented in the New York Daily News in November.

Specific information regarding the proposed location or project timeline is not provided, nor are the projected costs of such an undertaking. They suggest there will be as many as 350 full time employees.