Zip-line races soon at Mission Beach’s Belmont Park

The California Coastal Commission on January 10 approved another attraction for Mission Beach’s Belmont Park — a 300-foot zip-line.

The zip-line and a laser-tag arena that’s already approved and under construction,  will be operational on March 1, according to Stacy Warner, director of sales and marketing for “Eat. Drink. Sleep.,” a Pacific Beach–based hospitality management company that is working on the project.

Belmont park was acquired by Pacific Enterprises in November 2012. The investment company partnered with Eat Drink Sleep to run the amusement park. Pacifica isn’t saying how much it paid for the loan it purchased. The property ended up in bankruptcy in 2011 after previous leaseholder Tom Lochtefeld reportedly got into a dispute with the city over the rent.

Lochtefeld took over the seven-acre park in 2000 and, by all accounts, revived it. Last year, the park added a miniature-golf course — at $8.95 a game — and opened a sushi restaurant, Cannonball, where the ‘Canes nightclub used to be. Plans for the site include a new arcade, a new restaurant that will be named “Draft,” and the zip-line.

“There’s actually going to be two of them side by side, about 30 feet up, and the riders will race against each other,” Warner said.

The 89-year-old roller coaster will continue to anchor the amusement park.

The park’s new toys will be ready for use well before the annual summer rush – and the owners are hoping locals will embrace the upgrades, which range from the new toys to cleaning up the facades.

“What’s changed is that the tenants used to operate independent of the park management and so they didn’t always have a consistent level of quality and service,” said Warner. “There’s no admission fee, so you can pick what you want to do and pay only for the attractions you want. So, people can ride every ride and play every game, or just walk through and pick up some great fudge. That makes it really affordable and accessible.”