“This is not something we did willingly”, said Gediman, noting that the government was fighting to reclaim the old names in hopes that they can someday be restored. Yosemite National Park generates $535 million in economic benefit to the local region and directly supports 6,261 jobs.
Advertisement
Yosemite’s new partner is a subsidiary of Aramark – another global concessionaire firm.
Delaware North, which lost the concessions contract at Yosemite past year to its rival, Aramark, claims that it owns the rights to the names of several well-known sites within the park, which it said it was required to purchase for the equivalent of $115 million in today’s dollars when it took over operations at Yosemite in 1993.
In other changes, the popular Badger Pass Ski Area will be renamed the less evocative Yosemite Ski &Snowboard Area, and the Yosemite Lodge at the Falls will be reconfigured as the Yosemite Valley Lodge.
“Yellowstone National Park” was also licensed for merchandise, but that phrase and certain park images and logos are still in legal limbo.
Delaware North, meanwhile, said it was “shocked and disappointed that the National Park Service would consider using the beloved names of places in Yosemite National Park as a bargaining chip in a legal dispute”.
Delaware North also claims it has the rights to the name Yosemite National Park, but that name is not being changed.
In this 2011 photo, tents are seen in Curry Village in Yosemite National Park.
The National Park Service says the names and other intellectual property are worth about $3.5 million, according to the government’s response to the lawsuit. The National Park Service disputes the trademark claims. “We’re taking this action to ensure the seamless transition”.
The famed Ahwahnee is slated to become The Majestic Yosemite Hotel. “All we want in this is fair and just treatment”, the company said. The contractor says it is entitled to compensation for the trademarks from the new concessionaire.
Justice Department attorney John Robertson wrote in court papers that the company “wildly inflated” the value of the trademark names.
Advertisement
Delaware North “apparently embarked on a business model whereby it collects trademarks to the names of iconic property owned by the United States”, Robertson wrote. You can find it miles down the road in the people who love it. Thomas Pond who lives in Oakhurst said, “I worked up there for 22 years, for the park up there…I went through three different changes”.
