Cedar Fair revenue reaches $1.37 billion

SANDUSKY — As Cedar Point's season winded down, Cedar Fair, its parent company, experienced record revenue.The Sandusky-based entertainment company announced net revenue from the beginning of the year through Nov. 3 totaled $1.37 billion."I'm very pleased to say that our year-to-date results have us well on our way to making 2019 the best year in Cedar Fair's history," said Richard Zimmerman, company CEO and president, in a news release.Net revenues for the third quarter, which ran from July 1 to Sept. 29, reached a record amount of $715 million, which is an increase of 8 percent — or $51 million — compared to the same time period last year."While the industry has benefited from favorable weather conditions throughout key portions of the 2019 season, our strong results to date have been driven by solid growth in in-park per capita spending while entertaining a record number of guests particularly during our peak summer months," Zimmerman said.The company accredits the increase to its business model, which is focused on expanding the guest experience through immersive attractions that encourage people to visit more often.Looking forward, 2020 season pass sales are off to their best start ever and Cedar Fair plans to bring the Grand Carnivale and Monster Jam Thunder Alley to more parks next year."Limited-duration special event like these, as well as our Haunt and WinterFest celebrations, inspire our guests to visit our parks multiple times each season and makes the decisions to purchase a season pass much more compelling," Zimmerman said.Improvements are being made to several of the company's parks and attractions including a new roller coaster at Kings Island and improvements to the recently acquired Schlitterbahn water parks in Texas.Locally, the new indoor Cedar Point Sports Center will start holding tournaments soon and Sawmill Creek Resort and Conference Center is under renovations. When the resort reopens in the summer, Zimmerman said it will have a brand-new look and feel.Cedar Fair also announced its quarterly cash distribution to be $0.935 per unit, which will be paid to shareholders on Dec. 17.Reach reporter Michael Harrington at michaelharrington@sanduskyregister.com, follow the Register at Facebook.com/SanduskyRegisterA Gatekeeper train cruises down an incline behind the Cedar Point entrance.