Conneaut Lake's fate in judge's hands

If I can't have the "back and forth" with ya Gonch I'll settle for the debate ;)

I've stayed at the Conneaut hotel several times. One of the times it was terribly hot weather and that hotel is not AC'd. Can't blame people for not wanting to stay in a sweatbox.
I love the park. What it needs is a professional mgnt team and about 20 million bucks for renovations.

The PA Supreme Court has denied hearing Gary Harris' case so that is one more good thing for CLP. Whether or not it will be enough, only time will tell.

Well heres good news, The PA supreme court would not hear Gary Harris's apeal meaning he is totally out of the picture.

A big part of CLPs profits are going to fighting lawsuits and paying off debt. Now that the lawsuits are almost over, The park hopefully can almost see daylight to success.

It's a very charming park, With some paint and fixing up the park could be one of the best traditionals out there.

Chuck

How strange... I actually agree with everyone contributing to this topic! Could this be a sign of things to come in '05???

Conneaut needs a lot of help and considering the strength of the local competition, finding that help is going to be tough. If I were a local business person looking to make an investment, Conneaut would not be my choice as it is, at best, a risky venture. The current capital needs upgrading and a lot of additional capital would be nice and someone that's more than a run-of-the-mill investor would be needed to pony up that kind of cash.

But let it not be said that Conneaut is a park without potential. It sits on the shores of a busy lake, is located within a short drive of a number of large population centers and it has enough land to make huge future expansion possible.

With some money and some serious dedication, I can see Conneaut as a hybrid amusement park/lakeside resort. An outdoor concert venue for bands and other types of performances. An honest bathing beach. A turn-of-the-century hotel (upgraded a bit to give it some much-needed modern ammenities) that offers a traditional bed-and-breakfast experience on a much larger and more profitable scale. An amusement park that features a nice mix of old-fashioned rides and modern creations. How about some animals? A small ballpark or space on the beach set aside for volleyball? A few nice restaurants for cozy lakeview dinners and late-night entertainment on the weekends? A small shopping district?

If it sounds to you like I'm combining aspects of Kennywood, Indiana Beach and Cedar Point, then maybe you can understand what I'm talking about.

The way I see it, Conneaut has three options: Shut down, maintain itself or evolve. I think the last option makes the most sense and as Matthew pointed out, a traditional park is perfectly capable of reinventing itself and prospering. As he mentioned, Lake Compounce was on the brink of closing down for good but is now a great little destination with amusements, water attractions, lakeside restaurant and entertainment.

No Jeff, I don't blame people like you for the sorry state of Conneaut, I just blame people for being blind when they refuse to open their eyes.

I hate to say it but I pensonally don't think CLP is ready to operate. If the park keeps asking for money every year, it tells me something. It tells me that this situation isn't getting better. Other parks just open, they don't need a judges ok. All I see in the papers (I live in Erie) is that CLP needs more money or the attendance is down. As I've said many other times, the park needs something big. Something to draw more people. With their current situation reguarding funds, I see no future with the park. Also, I'd rather stay in my hometown park (Waldameer) than go to that dump down I-79.

I hope it opens for one last season so all the people with their eyes on it that haven't had a chance to go yet (like me :) ) can make it. Beyond that would just be icing on a cake.