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Park News - (4/14/08) A suspect has been arrested and charged with arson for fire at Conneaut Lake Park that destroyed the Dreamland Ballroom. The same man has also been charged with arson for a fire on a nearby church that happened a couple of weeks before the Conneaut Lake Park fire.
  (4/11/08) According to this news report Conneaut Lake will be used as a location for a new film called “The Road”, a film about a father and son’s tale of survival in a post apocalyptic world starring Viggo Mortensen and Charlize Theron. While the deal to film at the park was set before the big fire took place, the production teem has since toured the site in the fire’s aftermath and thinks that the destroyed remains of the Dreamland Ballroom will be a good fit with the films dark atmosphere. We’ve also been informed that the building that used to house the fun house, bowling alley and Ultimate Trip has collapsed. Apparently it had been deteriorating for years before this.
  (3/19/08) A new website called Friends of Conneaut Lake Park has been launched by local business owners and other interested parties to help organize events and fund raisers in the area to support the park.
  (3/4/08) The ATF and state police have confirmed that they will be conducting an investigation into the three different fires that have taken place at Conneaut Lake over the years as well as other issues that have come up. Meanwhile the park is also being considered for use as the backdrop for a new movie production.
  (2/5/08) The Conneaut Lake fire was so big, hot and destructive that even after a thorough investigation by the Fire Marshal, they have not even been able to determine the blazes’ cause or point of origin. While they believe that the fire very likely could have been arson, they have no evidence to make the final ruling and have had to label the cause of the fire as “undetermined”.
  (2/4/08) A reader passed on a couple of pictures (see sidebar) showing off the remains of the Conneaut Lake fire. I believe photo credit for the pictures goes to Don Schanz. Apparently the fire destroyed more than original reported as other nearby structures were destroyed sush as the maintenance building and the Skee Ball building was damaged enough that the remaining portions of it had to be pulled down. According to all the reports so far, the park had no insurance either so this is a complete loss.
  (2/1/08) More bad news for Conneaut Lake Park this week as a fire burned down the large structure that was home to the concessions area (1st floor) and Dreamland Ballroom (2nd floor). According to our reporter, they were saying that the huge flames were over 100 feet tall at one point before the entire 99 year old structure collapsed into itself and burned to the ground. Four volunteer firefighting crews responded to the fire only to find that the hydrant in front of the building was inoperable so they had to run longer hoses from other hydrants further away delaying their response times. You can find a picture what the Dreamland Ballroom used to look like here.
  (1/7/08) After failing to open last year, things are looking no better for Conneaut Lake in 2008 right now. Park officials already can’t confirm if they will be able to reopen the park this summer as it still has a nearly $3 million debt to work off.
  (12/21/07) So far things aren’t getting much better for Conneaut Lake. According to the latest news report a good deal of the park’s old office equipment will be auctioned off on January 3rd to pay off a bill to a food service company.
  (11/7/07) Conneaut Lake Park is now seeking proposals to lease all or part of the park, breaking it down into different areas like the hotel, rides, midway and marina. While they would be willing to enter long term lease agreements, they are not seeking to sell any of the property in an effort to preserve it.
  (10/12/07) Conneaut Lake will reopen briefly this weekend to host the local Fall Pumkin Fest, but none of the former park rides will open. Outside carnival rides will be brought in for the three day festival instead.
  (8/29/07) Screamscape has been informed by Ken Jones that Hotel Conneaut at Conneaut Lake Park will reopen this Friday. While the hotel’s restaurant will remain closed for the time being, food is still available at the Beach Club. The group is also planning new activities for the Labor Day Weekend, including a Cruise-In with a DJ and various bands performing.
  (8/17/07) Screamscape has been informed that through funds raised by Greg Sutterlin, the Beach Club and Down Under Bar at Conneaut Lake Park have reopened. The new Park Board also received a $25,000 grant which will help keep the Beach Club open as well as be used to turn the power back on at Hotel Conneaut which they hope to reopen by the end of the month. The Board also has plans to reopen Kiddieland in time for the Pumpkin Fest held at the park from October 12-14th.
  (7/5/07) A new 15 member board of directors has been appointed to run Conneaut Lake Park. The park will remain closed but there are currently two proposed plans to develop it and the board needs to address several financial obligations the park has first such as debts, insurance payments, refunding deposits from canceled weddings and so on.
  (6/11/07) Judge Anthony Vardaro granted LeRoy Stearns request to step down as the overseer of Conneaut Lake Park, but wants him to stay in place another 30 days while the Judge appoints a new board of directors to oversee park operations. The bills to reopen the park keep piling up however and currently there is $150,000 due to the power company to restore power to the park again and another $25,000 insurance bill that is also due.
  (5/23/07) The long battle is over for Conneaut Lake Park when Custodian LeRoy Stearns announced that all 15 employees were laid off immediately, all special events were cancelled and the park would not be able to open this season due to lack of funds. The park is already $2.3 million in debt right now and is not allowed to borrow any more funds to operate, they are only allowed to accept funds as a “gift”. Everything went afoul when a local judge blocked the sale of three acres of property that would have brought in $1.7 million. The exact fate of the 115 year old park has not been determined but many believe that the judge will elect to sell off the park’s assets to pay off creditors. The money earned from the token sales will also be used to pay off the park’s bills. As for now… last person out turn off the lights and put up the closed sign, because the battle is over.
  (4/30/07) According to the news reports today, Conneaut Lake has only raised $5,500 so far of the $300,000 they need to open up. A possible plan will be to open things up in phases if they don’t make the entire sum before Memorial Day weekend. They will attempt to open the Conneaut Lake Hotel first since it is expected to host several events next month and beyond that they will likely attempt to open the camp ground, then the boat docks, and only open the rest of the park after that IF they raise enough money to do so. Even if the park opens however, this will not even begin to solve their huge debt problems.
  (4/24/07) There is a chance that Conneaut Lake may not have the funds to open this summer after a judge rejected a proposal to sell 3.5 acres of lakefront property to a condo developer for $1.7 million. The plan was to use the funds to pay off a great deal of the park’s $2.5 million debt and use a bit as capital to reopen the park this season.