‘Where the fun will continue:’ Joyland to remain open under new ownership

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - Former owner David Dean says, “We knew that we had found the right new owners for Joyland.”

David Dean has owned and operated Joyland for five decades, but after years of financial struggles, David and his wife decided to sell the beloved amusement park. The news of the park closing was devastating for many West Texans.

“The announcement came around that we were looking for buyers and buyers came to us,” said Dean.

Those buyers, like so many Lubbock families, felt a strong connection to the Joyland legacy

New owner Jim Evans says, “We found out about it just like everybody else found out about it...the news that it is closing and the childhood place that we went to is not going to be around. It is going to be auctioned off and we were just heartbroken.”

Jim Evans and his wife, owners of Adventure Park, reached out to their business partners, the Holland family, and started the conversation about buying Joyland.

Kai Evans says, “We called them, just like everybody else, emailed them to ask if we could take a look at it, and realized quickly that it was something we wanted to be a part of.”

Both families feel that Joyland has a legacy that needs to stay alive here in Lubbock.

New owner Darryl Holland says, “We are here to help continue that on and take it forward and hopefully add some special things to it.”

The former owners, the Dean family, tell us that they will stay active in the business through next season to help smooth the transition for the new owners.

Dean says Joyland will be back up and running like it never closed.

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