Virginia Beach Christmas Lights Battle: Outdoor Ventures Sues City Over Competing Holiday Attraction

Outdoor Ventures is suing the city of Virginia Beach, Beach Events, and the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center Foundation over a competing holiday light show scheduled to open on November 20.

WTKR reports that the company seeks ten million dollars from each of the primary defendants and an additional one million dollars from Beach Events to block the city-backed attraction.

Outdoor Ventures, the company operating Owl Creek Landing, has filed a $20 million lawsuit against the city of Virginia Beach and the Virginia Aquarium Marine Science Center Foundation over competing holiday light displays. https://t.co/pCVBPda8Ne pic.twitter.com/Ta5PmQUvdc

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The conflict centers on the Lumi SkyWalk light show, which Outdoor Ventures planned to launch at its 65-foot Nautilus Observation Tower. Simultaneously, Virginia Beach is relocating its Holiday Trail of Lights event from the boardwalk directly to the aquarium grounds, setting up a head-to-head holiday season debut.

Outdoor Ventures CEO Bahman Azarm told WHRO that hosting two concurrent light displays adjacent to each other will confuse the public. WTKR reported that the company’s legal filing argues the city’s event directly breaches an operating agreement tied to The Adventure Park and Owl Creek Landing. According to the lawsuit, that contract includes a provision meant to shield the park from competing attractions within a 50-mile radius.

The legal action also details an earlier structural controversy involving the observation tower. Outdoor Ventures initially designed the project to reach 125 feet for sweeping coastal views. However, the U.S. Navy intervened over visibility concerns regarding the Dam Neck Annex and Naval Air Station Oceana, requesting that the height remain at or below the local tree canopy.

Conforming to military requests, the company scaled the structure down to 80 feet wide and 65 feet high. Company disclosures indicate the redesign caused construction delays and lower initial earnings, pushing the business to develop new attractions like the Lumi SkyWalk to recover its multi-million-dollar investment.

Virginia Beach Christmas Lights Battle: Outdoor Ventures Sues City Over Competing Holiday Attraction — Photo: independent.co.uk

Deputy City Attorney Chris Boynton stated to The Independent that the legal claims lack both factual and legal merit. Meanwhile, representatives for the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center Foundation confirmed that their Holiday Trail of Lights remains on schedule, declining further comment on active litigation.