Dolly Parton, owner of Dollywood theme park in Tennesee, US, has teamed up with Gaylord Entertainment to operate a 114-acre family attraction in Nashville, US.

The first phase of the project, estimated to cost around US$50m (€39m, £32m), will include a water and snow park. The attraction is scheduled to open in 2013.

The as yet unnamed attraction will be located adjacent to the existing Opryland Resort, which is owned and operated by Gaylord Entertainment.

The water and snow park will anchor the project which is set to be expanded in the future.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the joint venture said that the park will provide a mix of "high energy water activities" for the summer season and designated snow activities for winter play.

The owners are hoping to attract 500,000 visitors in the first year of operation.

Dolly Parton said: "I'm confident that partnering my Dollywood Company with a great company like Gaylord will create something truly special. We’re all working on new types of entertainment to do in the daytime and nighttime for the whole family so we bring new folks to the area year round.

"We hope that some other developers with great ideas will join us for phase two of this project. We’re saying the water and snow park are the first phase, but who knows, if we see some great ideas we could be developing the entire zone by the time the snow and water park open."

For the full press release, click here.

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