Outdoor Ventures Files $20 Million Lawsuit Against Virginia Beach Over Holiday Lights and Tower Dispute
“If we have two light shows going on at the same time next to each other, there’s going to be a tremendous amount of confusion,” Bahman Azarm, president and CEO of Outdoor Ventures, told WHRO News.
That clash sits at the center of a $20 million lawsuit filed by the company against the city of Virginia Beach and the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center Foundation. Outdoor Ventures operates The Adventure Park and the adjacent Owl Creek Landing expansion off General Booth Boulevard. The company is asking the court to block Virginia Beach’s Holiday Trail of Lights from operating at the aquarium grounds while pursuing damages over a disputed agreement.
The legal battle escalates tensions that began when Outdoor Ventures planned a 125-foot Nautilus Observation Tower at Owl Creek Landing in 2024. The Navy objected to the height because parts of Naval Air Station Oceana and Dam Neck Annex would be seen from the tower. The company ultimately built a tower one-half the original size, which opened later than planned and didn’t earn as much as anticipated, the suit claims.
Minutes of a September 2024 foundation meeting showed the business was “less assured” of success after spending millions. To drive attendance, the company launched the Lumi SkyWalk, a nighttime light story experience in the treetops. Then, earlier this year, the operators learned the city’s annual holiday lights display was moving from the Boardwalk to the aquarium grounds, positioning a competing walk-through attraction just a few hundred feet away.
City Attorney Dismisses Lawsuit Claims as Meritless
The lawsuit, amended in October, also names Beach Events, which operates the holiday lights for the city, and seeks $1 million. Both light shows are scheduled to open on Nov. 20.
City officials maintain the municipal event will proceed as planned. “Our initial assessment, as to the claims against the city, is that it is completely without factual or legal merit,” Deputy City Attorney Chris Boynton said to WHRO News. An aquarium spokesperson said the foundation cannot comment because the matter is pending. Beach Events referred WHRO to the city.
In May, the plaintiff notified the foundation with a written notice that the agreement was breached, but the foundation denied this and refused to discuss it further, the lawsuit claims. Outdoor Ventures has operated The Adventure Park since 2014 and opened Owl Creek Landing last year on 38 acres of city land.
