News: Geauga Lake prepares to dismantle Steel Venom

Posted at 5:19 PM EST (2219 GMT)

Mar. 1st, 2007 -- While the last few remaining pieces of the X-Flight roller coaster finally disappeared from the Geauga Lake skyline yesterday, the work crew's task of dismantling tons of steel track is hardly close to being completed. Over the course of the next few months, the Steel Venom roller coaster is next on the line to be dismantled and relocated to another Cedar Fair amusement park.

Park spokesman Bryan Edwards said Geauga Lake could not justify keeping X-Flight and Steel Venom - both expensive to maintain and operate - given the lack of use. Together, the coasters gave roughly 438,000 rides in 2006. By comparison, that's less than the least-ridden adult coaster at Cedar Point in Sandusky.

During a conference call to investors in February to discuss the company's fourth-quarter earnings, Chairman and CEO Dick Kinzel said that Geauga Lake made progress last year but still "fell below expectations." Kinzel said the park needed to reduce overhead costs and make adjustments to reflect visitation trends.