Editorial: Park execs off point

Cedar Fair executives made a petty public relations mistake that will send the corporate reputation plummeting faster than any of Cedar Point amusement park’s famous roller coasters.

The parent company of Cedar Point banned the Sandusky Register from Cedar Point’s media day event on Thursday in which reporters from around the country were shown the park’s attractions for the upcoming season.

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The now out-of-town owners don’t explain their position. The Register local newspaper reported that Cedar Fair executives emailed opaquely from their new North Carolina offices that “invitations to our private events remain at our discretion.”

If the reason is retaliation for some hardnosed news reporting by the Register, Cedar Fair should grow a thicker skin.

Sandusky and Cedar Point have thrived together on the Lake Erie shore for more than 150 years. Now historic illiteracy and managerial arrogance threaten to destroy that link.

The Sandusky Register has been the dominant news source in Cedar Point’s home for 202 years. It is impossible for Cedar Point to impede the Register without insulting the citizens of Sandusky.

Anything connected to Cedar Point is high interest news in Sandusky and must be followed closely by the high-caliber local newspaper. Picking a fight with the Sandusky Register is akin to inflicting injury on the people who’ve built Cedar Point.

“We have had a hand in building local connection between Cedar Point and the Erie County community and current park leaders should study the history of the paper helping to build tourism in this region before flippantly excluding us from a day of celebration,” Sandusky Register leadership wrote to Cedar Fair executives.

Cedar Point has benefited greatly from the assumption that the park and the broader community are united in the mission to become and remain a premier travel destination.

Bowling Green State University’s Resort and Attraction Management degree program is an investment of state resources to provide Cedar Point with trained managers to facilitate their growth.

Cedar Fair is a $2 billion company trading on Wall Street under the ticker symbol FUN. Given the inexcusably stupid decision to attack the best media friend Cedar Point has had over a 154-year business history, the trading symbol should be changed to DUMB.