{"id":2393,"date":"2026-06-20T08:03:55","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T08:03:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2393"},"modified":"2026-06-20T08:03:55","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T08:03:55","slug":"old-tucsons-future-uncertain-as-county-considers-several-options","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2393","title":{"rendered":"Old Tucson\u2019s future uncertain as county considers several options"},"content":{"rendered":"
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TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – Less than four years after Old Tucson Studios was taken over by a new company,<\/b><\/u><\/i> Pima County will have to start looking for a new tenant.<\/p>\n

Read more PACC\u2019s Eastside Adoption Center to reopen as main facility hit by deadly disease outbreak<\/a><\/p>\n

In August 2022, American Heritage Railways, operating as Old Tucson Entertainment, acquired the iconic landmark.<\/p>\n

American Heritage Railways had hoped to bring Old Tucson back to its original glory, but it appears it didn\u2019t work out. <\/p>\n

Old Tucson Studios closed its doors during the pandemic in 2020,<\/b><\/u> and many had hoped it could again become a destination.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a huge part of our history since 1939 when filming started there and then when we opened it as an attraction,\u201d said Diane Frisch, the director of Pima County\u2019s Attractions and Tourism. \u201cIt\u2019s located in Tucson Mountain Park, and we own the facility, so the buildings mean a lot, the property means a lot to us \u2013 it\u2019s part of our history.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why the county is hoping to keep the park up and running in some way, though nothing is set in stone yet.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt could be continuing to work with American Heritage Railways under a different plan; we could have a new leaseholder, or it could be a combination of several things,\u201d said Frisch.<\/p>\n

Old Tucson Entertainment<\/b><\/u><\/i> signed a five-year lease with the county and was set to pay $60,000 per year for rent and give the county 4% of the annual gross operating revenue.<\/p>\n

Origins of Old Tucson, as told by the founder\u2019s wife<\/b><\/u><\/i><\/h3>\n

The initial lease was slated to end next year, but the company had an option to extend the deal for another decade.<\/p>\n

The county said AHR declined to execute the extension and that the current lease ends in April 2027.<\/p>\n

\u201cCounty officials have met with representatives of American Heritage Railways and are actively engaged in discussions about how they can move forward together,\u201d the county said in a release to 13 News.<\/p>\n

Read more Young soccer fans in Tucson hopeful World Cup success will help sport grow<\/a><\/p>\n

Frisch said the tourism industry has been down since the pandemic in 2020, and that could be a reason why AHR does not want to extend the lease.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re doing okay, but I think everybody has been struggling to keep their numbers up and their attendance,\u201d said Frisch.<\/p>\n

The county said the Nightfall event and the Yuletide celebration will continue as planned.<\/p>\n

\u201cOld Tucson is currently open, and all tours and other events are continuing as normal,\u201d the county said. \u201cOfficials are encouraging visitors and residents to continue exploring all Old Tucson has to offer, from Ghost Tours to Summer Night Markets to studio tours and more.\u201d<\/p>\n

The county said its staff will try to focus on the broader public interest in preserving and enhancing Old Tucson.<\/p>\n

One of the things that made Old Tucson so attractive to tourists was the fact that so many movies were made there beginning in 1939. A fire in 1994 destroyed the old movie sets, filming stopped for the most part, and attendance plummeted.<\/p>\n

American Heritage Railways has ties to the movie industry.<\/p>\n

The company operates a dozen attractions like Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, Great Smoky Mountains Railroad, the Grand Imperial Hotel, and True West Rodeo<\/p>\n

Allen Harper, the CEO and Chairman, said at the time that AHR spent the last quarter-century \u201cwith historic railways, theme parks, hotels and other tourist attractions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Are you streaming 13 News?<\/p>\n

Watch a free live stream of Tucson Now and 13 News at TucsonNow.Live.<\/p>\n

Be sure to download the free Tucson Now app, which you can find on Apple and Google.<\/p>\n

If you are using a desktop computer, you can use your mobile device to scan the QR code below.<\/p>\n

Read more Phoenix civil rights activist Jarrett Maupin indicted on fraud charges<\/a><\/p>\n

You can submit your breaking news or weather images here.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pima County will have to start looking for a new tenant for the iconic landmark Old Tucson.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2310,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nOld Tucson\u2019s future uncertain as county considers several options - Tucson Moving Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2393\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Old Tucson\u2019s future uncertain as county considers several options - Tucson Moving Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Pima County will have to start looking for a new tenant for the iconic landmark Old Tucson.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2393\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tucson Moving Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-20T08:03:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2393#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2393\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255\"},\"headline\":\"Old Tucson\u2019s future uncertain as county considers several options\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-20T08:03:55+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2393\"},\"wordCount\":662,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2393#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/3382b43ec16eebbc959e8f8623007ca5.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2393#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2393\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2393\",\"name\":\"Old Tucson\u2019s future uncertain as county considers several options - 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