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Could Kiss Revive Long-Shuttered Corner Of Cal Expo?

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Members of the rock band Kiss want to open a new restaurant at Cal Expo by the end of the year.

The band is promising to bring in new business and throw a concert if Cal Expo approves the plan.

It was more than 20 years ago when Paradise Island was a family fun center with miniature golf, go karts and kids rides. It was a popular spot, but it's been closed for a decade. The weathered structures inside can only be seen from above the chain-linked fences marked "no trespassing."

Cal Expo CEO Rick Pickering is discussing new plans for that corner that could bring Kiss' Rock and Bre family-themed restaurant to the space PG&E currently uses as a storage yard. It would also reopen the miniature golf course, batting cages and kids play area.

"This makes a lot of sense with us," he said. "It's ties to farm-to-fork; it's what we're all about."

The band has opened 15 family fun center restaurants across the country, and investors say once the state approves the plan, they can get it up and running in just 120 days. The plan promises 100 employees in the restaurant and 100 in the play areas.

The plan comes at a time when Cal Expo wants new business. The state fair board got no responses in request for qualifications for development last year.

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