Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk could be 1st amusement park in California to reopen

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. - As Santa Cruz County just moved into the orange tier, the Beach Boardwalk could become the first amusement park to reopen in California.

Boardwalk officials told the Southern California News Group they'll start by reopening no more than 12 rides and no decisions have been made yet on which those will be. Smaller theme parks can reopen open at 25% capacity or 500 in-county visitors, whichever is fewer, with admission by reservation only in the orange tier. 

They have other work to do before guests can be welcomed back.

That includes updating the ticket system to allow advance reservations and setting limits on attendance.

They'll also have to restrict visitors to people who live in Santa Cruz County.

The boardwalk will announce exactly when it will reopen as soon as it works out all those details.

In the Bay Area, the Small World Park and Pixieland amusement parks in Contra Costa County could also reopen. And technically, Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara County is allowed to open per state regulations, although the health officials there said they want to hold off on reopening the facility.