SANFORD – Consultants hired to conduct a $35,000 feasibility study funded by private citizens and the city of Sanford on the development of a theme park in the Sanford area have found that the concept has real merit.

According to a press release received this week from York Pines Inc., a group established last April with support of the Sanford City Council, the study indicates that the proposed project justifies follow-up actions leading to a search for potential attractions and resort developers. The City Council voted to fund 1/7th, or $5,000, of the study costs.

“This is an exciting prospect for Sanford, but also for the state of Maine,” said Sanford Mayor Thomas Cote Wednesday. “A project of this size would likely bring hundreds of jobs to the area and provide some level of tax relief. For Sanford, it would be a major step forward in our economic recovery.”

Bill Underwood, a Springvale resident and York Pines member, initiated the process at a City Council meeting last spring when he proposed studying the possibility of a tourist attraction. He said he was pleased with the findings.

“The study exceeded all expectations, and I am pleased we got a top-notch consulting team who are experts in the industry to find that a complex in Sanford has great potential,” said Underwood. “This is an opportunity for the community to do its homework in an effort to make the best case possible when and if we reach out to potential developers.”

The study helped to define what the best mix of attractions would be for the area. The concept includes a theme park and entertainment complex, indoor water park, resort complex and indoor and outdoor adventure venues, among other features.

“The study refined that vision into a creative, exciting concept that embraces current trends in leisure travel and complements Maine’s tourism mission to become a premier four-season destination in New England,” said Larry Wyatt, principal of Wyatt Design Group, a theme park and leisure destination planning and design firm, who was part of the team hired to do the study.

Fred Cochrane, a resort economic analyst, also a member of the consulting team, said he was “pleasantly surprised to find this region to be one of the largest unserved tourism markets in the country. Sanford is uniquely located, appears to have excellent sites, and is motivated to achieve a successful attractions development project.”

Strategies for working with potential developers were included in the consulting team’s report, which York Pines said will help if the plan for a tourist attraction in Sanford goes forward.

Cote plans on continuing to work with York Pines on project development.

“To have any chance of success, a project of this magnitude will require a great deal of planning and organization. There is still a great deal of work that needs to be done, and I am committed to help at each step in the process,” said Cote. “I am inspired by the fact that a small group of Sanford residents are willing to use their own time and resources to bring something positive to our community.”