New Jersey Dinosaur Park to Close as Facebook Marketplace Listings Loom Following 14-Year Run

A New Jersey dinosaur park has begun selling its life-size animatronic creatures on Facebook Marketplace as it prepares to shut down after 14 years of operation. Field Station: Dinosaurs in Leonia announced in May that it would close when its lease ends on Nov. 9, 2025, a decision the owner attributed to mounting financial strains and the impending renewal of the lease. The park, which has welcomed more than a million guests over its history, is offering dozens of its signature dinosaurs for $500 to $3,500 each, depending on size and condition, with the largest specimens commanding the highest prices.

The assortment includes favorites such as a 39-foot Tyrannosaurus rex listed for about $2,700, described as "slightly used, well loved!" by the sale post. Other items range from a rubber juvenile Triceratops, a 16-foot-tall figure described as having limited motion and sound for about $1,668, to a 75-foot-long Apatosaurus priced at roughly $2,860. Buyers are responsible for all deinstallation and transportation costs, according to the listings. The park has noted that it would prioritize purchasers capable of taking multiple dinosaurs or the entire collection rather than selling off figures one by one.

The market approach comes as the park faces a looming end of operations at the end of the 2025 season. Field Station: Dinosaurs founder and owner Guy Gsell told local outlets that finances had become problematic and that the lease renewal was not feasible, marking the decision to shut down after more than a decade of shows, fossil digs, and educational programming. In interviews, Gsell said the sale offers a chance for preservation-minded institutions, private collectors, or even community groups to acquire a piece of the park’s legacy and to keep portions of its educational mission alive in some form.

The park’s leadership emphasized that while the on-site attraction will cease, its spirit may endure through events and outreach efforts. "Everything that people love about the Field Station’s shows, our entertainment, our educational programming – those will live on after the park closes," Gsell told a local outlet. He recalled the broader impact the venue had on visitors, noting that the experience drew families from across the region and helped spark an interest in paleontology and natural history.

Manager Lisa Fardella, who has overseen front-desk operations and guest services, said the response to the Facebook Marketplace listings has been overwhelming. "It’s been an absolute zoo," she told PIX11. "Crazy insane. I haven’t slept much, trying to keep up with responding to everybody." The advertising blitz has drawn calls from across the United States, with some buyers hoping to reclaim a piece of the park’s dramatic displays for museums, zoos, private collections, or even personal backyards.

The sale is taking place as Field Station: Dinosaurs winds down its on-site attractions after 14 seasons. The park, which opened to the public in Leonia after relocating from Secaucus, offered live shows, interactive games, and fossil digs in addition to the towering life-sized dinosaurs that drew crowds for generations. The closing marks the end of an era for a venue that organizers said helped shape a local culture around family-friendly science education and dinosaur lore. The owners say a closing ceremony or community-oriented events will be planned in the lead-up to and after the final closure date, with the hope that the site’s educational mission can continue in some form through partnerships or off-site programming.

The Field Station’s closure comes as attraction operators across the region reassess their business models in light of rising operating costs and changing attendance patterns. While the sale of the dinosaurs will permit the owners to recoup some costs and minimize liabilities, it also underscores the challenge of sustaining a single-venue, experiential attraction over many years. The park’s leadership stressed that the decision to close was not taken lightly and reflected a broader view of leaving a lasting, positive impact on the community rather than maintaining an increasingly unsustainable operation.

The Field Station: Dinosaurs has become part of local lore, with residents recalling the park’s unique marriage of entertainment and science education. The owners say the legacy will endure through events, ongoing outreach, and the ongoing interest of visitors who visited the park over the years. From Secaucus to Leonia, the journey has been a notable chapter in New Jersey’s cultural and entertainment landscape, and officials expressed gratitude for the support that helped sustain the park for more than a decade. As auctions wind down and the remaining dinosaurs are decommissioned, the community watches for how the site’s educational mission might continue in new formats or partnerships in the years ahead.