Conneaut Lake Park will open this summer
CONNEAUT LAKE, Pa. — By contracting out management of its rides, Conneaut Lake Park will reopen this summer after having been closed the past two. The debt-ridden family amusement park will open on Memorial Day weekend.
The park is saddled with about $2 million in debt for several years. A February 2008 fire that destroyed the midway and the Dreamland Ballroom appeared to be the final straw.
The park and part of the hotel were used last October as a Halloween haunted attraction — a testament to the park’s neglected condition.
The debt still remains, but the lease agreements — with Lisko and Son of Lowellville, Ohio, to operate the rides and water park; and Greg Sutterlin and Steve Popovich of the Conneaut Lake area to operate the hotel and beach club — will not only allow the park to reopen, but will allow the park’s board of trustees to raise money to pay down the debt, said Juanita Hampton, board member and executive director of the Crawford County Comvention and Visitors Bureau.
Though almost all of the rides will be open, including Kiddieland, the historic Blue Streak roller coaster will remain closed this summer so that Lisko can assess the repairs that are necessary. Plans call for it to be open by the end of the 2010 season, according to Jack Moyers, president of the part board of trustees.
The carousel, the miniature train and other permanent park rides will be in operation, as well as some rides Lisko will install. The pony track operated by Don Weyel for nearly 50 years also will be open again.
The Midway buildings have been razed, and part of the newly opened space will be used for concession stands, which Lisko will operate, according to Hampton. Lisko has a seven-year lease with the trustees. The park’s popular french fries will be sold again.
Hotel Conneaut, which was open last summer, has reopened for the season and is undergoing major renovations. New plumbing and heat has been installed in the hotel ballroom, said Hampton, and air conditioning units will be installed in the rooms. The building has never had air conditioning, said Hampton.
Plans call for opening a limited number of rooms at first and turning the hotel into a year-round destination instead of summer-only. As such, heating will also be installed in the rooms.
An outdoor pool is being added to the hotel grounds this summer by Sutterlin and Popovich, who have a 30-year lease with the park trustees.
The Beach Club also is now open, and Camperland is undergoing major renovations and will be open again this year, according to Moyers. Public docks are being repaired and also will be available to the public.
A campaign to raise $180,000 to replace the 650-foot boardwalk is underway.