Geauga Lake - the body of water, not the amusement park - may once again be open to the public.
Aurora Mayor Ann Womer Benjamin is proposing the city buy the lake itself, along with 40 acres of lakefront that was once part of Sea World. City Council discussed the $4.5 million proposal in executive session on Monday night.
Since Geauga Lake amusement park closed in 2007, parts of the site have been redeveloped. There’s new housing on the east side and retail to the west. In 2020, Cleveland-based Industrial Commercial Properties bought the remaining 377 acres. The company has been performing demolition work and prepping the land for mixed-use development.
Aurora’s portion would include a public park, pool, beach and non-motorized boating, taking the property back to its 19th century roots as a recreation and picnic area.
Womer Benjamin called the plan “the opportunity of a lifetime to guarantee our residents lake access.” She proposes to use $1.3 million in ARPA funds toward the purchase, with the remainder coming from the city’s general fund. As part of the deal, Industrial Commercial Properties would also construct a loop trail around the 53-acre, spring-fed lake. Womer Benjamin also suggested that some of the former amusement park’s structures, such as the Sea World aquarium, could be repurposed.
Amusement on the lake
Rides were first installed in 1889, at what was once known as Giles Pond. Over the next several decades, Geauga Lake grew to include the iconic Big Dipper roller coaster, a dance hall, racetrack, swimming pool and other attractions. By the 1970s, under owners Funtime, Inc., it became a popular destination for company picnics.
“Fifty-four percent of our attendance came from pre-booked outings,” said Dale Van Voorhis, co-owner of Funtime, in 2018. “It gave us a steady cash flow as opposed to Sea World. They didn’t have near the amount of booked outings.”
Sea World opened across the lake in 1970, the second park in the chain after the original in San Diego. Six Flags purchased Funtime in 1995, and then it bought Sea World too in 2001. The combined park, Six Flags Worlds of Adventure, operated from 2001-03, until Cedar Fair purchased the property. Cedar Fair eventually closed the parks after the 2007 season. A smaller waterpark, Wildwater Kingdom, operated on the land from 2005-2016.
Proposals for the area since then have included film soundstages and even a short-lived attempt at crowdfunding to rebuild the amusement park. In 2017, the Aurora Historical Society and Ohio History Connection unveiled a plaque commemorating the site’s legacy. At the time, Womer Benjamin floated the idea of an educational or medical facility on the site.
