Santa's Theme Park a no-show this year

Motorists driving along Interstate 10 south of Ahwatukee won't have to worry about gawkers slowing to check out the lights of Santa's Theme Park this year.

The attraction that had set up millions of festive lights for the past three winters at Firebird International Raceway will not return to the Valley this year.

Attempts to reach Santa's LLC have been unsuccessful, but Alia Maisonet, spokeswoman for the Gila River Indian Community, where Firebird Raceway is located, said the reasons were financial.

"From what I've been able to find out, really it's about economics," Maisonet said. "The revenue generated last year wasn't sufficient. It lost money."

Santa's LLC had been hesitant to release attendance figures in each of the three years it operated, saying instead that numbers were sufficient to return the following year.

Throughout its time in the Valley, the park had been the subject of a number of lawsuits. Companies seeking to be paid for advertising, marketing, portable restrooms and services filed suit against the company in 2006.

CBS Outdoors, a billboard company, also filed a suit against Santa's LLC, claiming it was owed money.

The phone number listed on the park's Web site has been disconnected. Attempts to reach the organizers of the festival via e-mail have been unsuccessful.

Santa's was a mile long and featured amusement-park-style rides, including three roller coasters. There was a 78-foot Christmas tree with 100,000 LED lights, strolling entertainment and a nativity scene with life-size figures.

Perhaps the top attraction was Santa's Christmas Village, with life-size buildings and hand-carved animated characters.

The brightly lit, colorful theme park could be seen for miles around and at times caused traffic delays on Interstate 10 near the Wild Horse Pass exit, as motorists slowed to get a look.