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Great Wolf fends off pack of rivals

2005 saw year of major competition for the first indoor waterpark to the area.

By BRIAN HORN
brianhorn@sanduskyregister.com

PERKINS TWP. - Despite early reports showing a financial struggle, Great Wolf Lodge has held its own, according to a company spokesperson.

The indoor waterpark faced its first competition in 2005 with the openings of Castaway Bay and Kalahari waterparks, but has stayed competitive, said Erin Ruppenthal, spokesperson for Great Wolf Lodge.

"If you look overall at 2005, our staff has done a wonderful job adjusting to a recent competitive market," she said. "Overall, we're pleased with how Sandusky is pacing in a competitive market."

Because Great Wolf is a public company, Ruppenthal said she could not release specific numbers for the fourth quarter, and the company did not have specific area attendance results for the first three quarters.

In July, Great Wolf reported a $2.5 million loss in the second quarter of 2005, attributing the losses to market conditions and increased competition at the 4600 Milan Road location.

The company recently had a securities fraud class-action lawsuit filed against them on behalf of Great Wolf shareholders. The complaint alleges the company provided misleading, unreliable and unpredictable quarterly and annualized guidance to convince investors to buy the company's stock during the IPO.

Great Wolf expected some effect with two new waterparks opening, but the competition should benefit the area as a whole, Ruppenthal said.

"There's always an impact when there are competitors in the same market. It's natural for people that want to try out something new," she said.

"In the end, it will all even out and attract more tourism to the area. It's going to be good for everybody."

That tourism is something the Erie County Visitors and Conventions Bureau hopes will increase for the winter months, according to the bureau's executive director, Joan Van Offeren.

Van Offeren said the bureau will spend $50,000 for billboard and cable television advertising in Columbus. The campaign will run in January and February, while the three waterparks will do their own advertising in Toledo and Cleveland, according to Van Offeren.

"We are trying to establish Sandusky as Ohio's waterpark destination," said Van Offeren, adding a committee has been formed with representatives from the waterparks and the visitors bureau.

"It's a mutual effort between all of us," she said. "I think we can have a stronger message collectively."

Van Offeren said the bureau's advertising will focus on the indoor waterpark angle, but will also boast of other activities in Sandusky.

"Let's be real. It's challenging anywhere to get people to travel in January and February," Van Offeren said. "An 80 degree waterpark sounds pretty tempting when your sitting around the fireplace."

Van Offeren said the county hopes to capitalize on scheduled articles appearing in a number of AAA publications, advertising the area's waterparks.

"We're just trying to help create the image that you've been to one, come back and try the other," Van Offeren said.

Ruppenthal said Great Wolf has seen a more than 50 percent rate of returning guests since opening in 2001.

"That's very high in this type of industry," she said. "I think that number speaks for a lot."

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