A proposed US$52m (€37.3m, £30.6m) aquarium and water park in Ohio is looking for a new location after the developer pulled out of a potential deal at one site.

Developer and designer Hammond Aqualife is aiming to build the visitor attraction in Northeast Ohio, and had announced plans in March that would see it constructed in Massillon on the site of a city-owned 275 acre golf course.

A lease agreement had been discussed with the city for 22 acres of the property, but Hammond subsequently issued a letter of intent to purchase the golf course. The developer says its investors and international partners were ultimately concerned about the time it would take to secure the property, and so the Massillon site has been scrapped.

Five other locations in Northeast Ohio are now under consideration.

The March proposal would have seen a 120,000sq ft facility being built, with the water park component featuring a retractable dome. It would also have included a convention centre, restaurants plus a brewery, and was expected to attract 500,000 visitors in its first year, reaching between 800,000 to 950,000 by the fifth year.

Hammond Aqualife is also hoping to build a sea lion encounter facility as part of the project, with the aim of providing assisted therapies and interactive swim programmes.

The project is being modelled after successful combined aquariums and waterparks in other parts of the world, but would represent a first for the Americas, according to the developers.