MISSION BEACH – A resident came forward at the Mission Beach Town Council meeting on May 13, alleging Belmont Park’s Giant Dipper Roller Coaster is unsafe.
Mission Beach resident Kevin Payne, a water-damage technician living near Belmont Park, also presented numerous other accusations to MBTC of alleged wrongdoing at the popular oceanfront amusement park. Afterward, Payne’s allegations were branded as being entirely without substance by a Belmont Park official.
Payne told MBTC he has established a website outlining alleged violations at the park. Payne claims the City is “refusing to enforce.”
In excerpts from that website, Payne claims of the Giant Dipper that “they’re (Belmont) rushing to fix the rotted wood that I exposed on a Fox 5 news report (in January). But one of the new primary support columns is already fractured on multiple sides, and instead of replacing it again, they’re just going to plan to hide it with paint.”

Steve Thomas, Belmont Park’s president and general manager, said of the century-old Giant Dipper Roller Coaster: “We have a dedicated maintenance team working on it non-stop re-profiling the track, replacing its support structure, and making sure it is within engineering tolerances because it gets lots of wear and tear throughout the year. Being a wooden roller coaster, it takes a lot of maintenance; it’s very normal.
“Additionally, all of our rides are inspected by the state of California annually. There is a third-party inspector who comes out to inspect all of our rides. These are licensed engineers plus certified state inspectors,” Thomas said.
In another allegation, Payne claimed Belmont Park’s lease “is very clear, I have it right here for anybody to read, and the concerts are prohibited period.” He added, “This isn’t just about another concert. It’s about corporate profit and greed overriding public access, public safety, and basic decency. I’m asking the council to put this matter on a public agenda, and to take action before this situation gets worse.”
Of Payne’s website on Belmont Park, Thomas noted: “There’s so much on there. A lot of what I see is him taking photos and harassing our team members who are just doing routine maintenance on the property. He’s been regularly seen photographing and bullying our employees. He has a history of this. We’re not sure why he’s targeting Belmont; what’s going on there? All of the claims he’s made are baseless.”
Added Payne: “My attorney is finalizing a lawsuit to be filed next week or soon after. I’ll ask the court to appoint a monitor to enforce the lease and bring in a Big Four firm for a full forensic audit. This is a revenue-sharing lease, and the City’s audit found Belmont Park’s operators are concealing revenue and withholding key financial records.”
Concerning Payne’s allegations about overly loud Belmont Park concerts, and accusations of public space being “hijacked for profit,” Thomas said: “We always work with the City on getting all necessary permitting. We provide many different genres of music here, from country to electronic dance music.
“It seems like Kevin doesn’t like particular types of music. His claims that we have been operating in bad faith are baseless. We’ve put millions of dollars into Belmont Park to revitalize the property,” Thomas said.
“During COVID, the City forced us to shut down for a year. We paid our rent even though we weren’t allowed to operate. When we took over the property, the boardwalk restaurants had burned down. They were boarded up with people living inside them. We have done our best to turn this property into something special that San Diego can be proud of. And we’re excited to be celebrating our 100th anniversary this year,” Thomas added.