Cedar Point's parent company argues it's vital to local economy

SANDUSKY — Local small businesses need Cedar Point to open to recover from the shutdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic, according to the park's parent company Cedar Fair. "We talk a lot about helping small businesses open," said Lee Alexakos, the company's vice president of community relations. "In a lot of our areas, small businesses rely on our parks, and nothing's going to happen until our parks open." Alexakos made the statement during her testimony Tuesday to the Ohio House's Economic Recovery Task Force, which formed to find ways to renew Ohio's economy after COVID-19. She said Cedar Fair's parks drew 23 million people to their surrounding counties, created 25 thousand jobs and brought in about $400 million of taxes. Its parks also provide business to local contractors and food producers. "These are small local companies that depend on us," Alexakos said. Cedar Fair planned to open Kings Island in April and its flagship park Cedar Point on May 9, but stay-at-home orders and social distancing recommendations forced them to delay the openings. Since its two Ohio parks are seasonal, Alexakos contends they need to open as soon as possible to save as much of its season as possible. "We don't have don't have the luxury of making up that time in November," Alexakos said. "We have one shot, and it's just a few months." The earliest Cedar Fair could open its Ohio parks would be mid-summer, and they would need four to six weeks' notice to get things prepared for when it opens. "We have to hire about 12,000 seasonal employees, license our rides, finish projects and order food," Alexakos said. "So, the more lead time we have, the better." In the meantime, Cedar Fair has prepared for its eventual opening by purchasing thousands of masks, plexiglass partitions and working out the strategies best suited for keeping people safe. "The safety of our guests and employees always comes first," Alexakos said. "We know people going to large venues will want to feel safe." Cedar Fair has also joined a task force developed by Gov. Mike DeWine's office for how large venues will operate following the coronavirus. Others on the task force include the Cleveland Indians, Ohio State University and the Cincinnati Reds.