1. Home
2. News
3. WATERPARKS: Will smaller be the next big thing?

WATERPARKS: Will smaller be the next big thing?

Developers hint there's a niche in Sandusky for smaller, less-pricey parks.

By TOM JACKSON
tomjackson@sanduskyregister.com

The opening of Kalahari on May 20 gave the Sandusky area three indoor waterparks, and a fourth project was announced Friday, but developers and local tourist-related businesses are hoping for more.

The market would likely support smaller indoor waterparks aimed at budget travelers to complement the large waterpark resorts that have opened so far in the area, said John Michael Hoty, president of Hoty Enterprises Inc., and Mark Litten, executive director of Greater Erie County Marketing Group Inc.

Monday, John Hoty will travel to the Wisconsin Dells, a tourist area home to nearly 20 indoor waterparks, to learn more about development in areas that have many waterparks.

The Sandusky area's chances of becoming such an area apparently grew Friday, when Dial Family Resorts of Omaha, Neb., said it plans to begin construction early next year on Coyote Falls Lodge, a hotel and indoor waterpark complex, on U.S. 250 north of Kalahari and near Ohio 2.

Hoty, who has developed many of the properties along U.S. 250 and who plans to buy land across U.S. 250 from Kalahari Waterpark Resort, sees room for more waterparks.

"I think you'll see some smaller ones," he said.

Sandusky needs waterparks that will serve budget-minded tourists, he said.

"Not everybody can afford $300 a night," he said. "There's going to be some breadth to the market. I think it's pretty narrowly focused right now."

Litten agrees, noting that the Wisconsin Dells has many smaller indoor waterparks, including some hotel waterparks which he describes as "a swimming pool on steroids."

"When they say they have 19 waterparks, they don't have 19 Kalaharis or Great Wolfs," he said.

Some developers are waiting to see how the two new indoor waterparks, Castaway Bay and Kalahari, do before coming forward with new projects.

Bob Davis, president of Mid-States Development in Columbus, says he sees the Sandusky area "ending up with perhaps a half-dozen water parks, a little bit like Wisconsin Dells," he said.

But with the two new parks, "most of the people we talk to want to wait a year and see how things go," Davis said.

He said his company has looked at several locations in Sandusky, including the site of the city building.

"We're kicking the tires, so to speak, trying to generate some interest," he said.

Local hotel owner George Ruta has put a planned waterpark at Comfort Suites on the shelf, at least for now, and also is adopting a wait-and-see attitude.

The Ruta family operates 13 hotels in the Sandusky area, the newest being the 89-room, all-suite Comfort Suites on Milan Road near Ohio 2. The family planned to open a budget waterpark there aimed at families who can't afford the larger, more luxurious parks.

But Ruta said last week he wants to see how the other waterparks do before going forward, and that he's been having second thoughts about getting into the waterpark business.

"Operationally, I'm not sure it's a lifestyle we want. It will change who and what we are," Ruta said.

Great Wolf Lodge and Kalahari were built by companies that were already established in the Dells.

Todd Nelson, founder and CEO of Kalahari Resorts, said he doubts any of the other large waterparks in the Dells will open a park in the Sandusky area anytime soon.

Hoty, however, said other Dells waterparks have shown an interest in Sandusky.

"They call and they ask questions," he said.

FunCoast.com is your online guide to summer fun for Cedar Point, the LakeErie Islands and Sandusky area. Our site offers up-to-date information on area attractions, restaurants, hotels, gasoline prices, ferry schedules, swimming, birding and fishing, along with a complete listing of events happening in the Sandusky/Cedar Point area. To use our Webcam and zoom in on Cedar Point's rollercoasters, go to http://funcam.funcoast.com