- December 4, 2025
The sale of Marineland Dolphin Adventures was an unusual one, U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Laurie Selber Silverstein said in a Nov. 12 hearing regarding the property.
“It isn’t a retail store that you can just shut the doors on one day,” she said to the court. “This is a business which is about animals, engagement with animals, educational research. So the court has to be informed by all of those considerations.”
It was with that perspective that Silverstein ultimately approved the sale of Marineland to #1 Apex Association LLC – a company that has been the face and financial backer for a grassroots effort to keep Marineland open.
Apex Association is owned by Jon and Barbara Rubel, a couple out of Green Cove Springs, Florida. The Rubels bid $7.1 million in the Nov. 11 auction and plan, alongside dolphin expert Jack Kassewitz, to keep Marineland Dolphin Adventure operational. Kassewitz signed on on the condition that former Marineland Park Director Felicia Cook would return to her position as well.
This is the second time the park has gone to auction. At the end of October, the Rubels and Apex petitioned the court to reopen the closed auction, stating the group had not been allowed to participate despite communications with the sellers.
But the work is not finished yet. Despite placing the winning bid, and having it approved by the court, Apex Association must finalize the sale by Dec. 5, per the terms of the sale agreement with Leisure Investment Holdings LLC.
The date is nonnegotiable, and if Apex does not meet it, the sale will default to the backup bidder, Delightful Development LLC, which also placed a $7.1 million bid.
The debtor’s attorney Paul Keenan said the seller’s team had made it very clear to all the bidders that the closing date will not change. The entire reason for the sale is that Leisure Investment Holdings has filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
The strict time frame allows the company to complete the sale before the end of the year through a backup bidder if Apex can’t close on the sale, he said.
“The finances of this estate, unfortunately, are in a very precarious position,” Keenan said. “I just wanted to make that abundantly clear here, because, in a lot of situations, especially when it comes to going concern sales, there are issues, and closing dates slip. This one can’t slip.”
A going concern sale means the operations of the sale property will be able to continue without interruption, despite the transfer of ownership.
At the same time Silverstein approved the sale to Apex, she also approved the $500,000 sale and transfer of three dolphins from Marineland to Theater of the Sea, a marine park in Islamorda, Florida. The three dolphins being transferred are a mother and two siblings, Capri, Soleil and Sandy.
Including those three, Marineland has 17 dolphins, many of which were born at Marineland and a few of which are third-generation Marineland dolphins.
The proposed sale of Marineland brought together many in Flagler County and the surrounding communities to preserve the county’s iconic attraction. Marineland opened first in 1938 as Marine Studios. For the past 80 years, it has since been the site of Hollywood films and made significant contributions to marine science, according to the park’s website.
Silverstein said there was “a clear, clear voice coming from members of the dolphin community” and from the Flagler County community.
She said the court even received letters from Flagler Palm Coast High School students on behalf of the continuing operation of Marineland.
“I appreciate the engagement,” she said.
