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Cedar Point, repeatedly acclaimed as the country's best amusement park, opens Saturday with a new gourmet hot dog stand, workers racing to finish a 30-story swing ride and continued buzz-bombing of its leadership team by a dissident shareholder.
Pink's, which has been a Hollywood fixture since 1939 for its gourmet wieners, will open its first branch east of Las Vegas at Cedar Point.
However, Cedar Point's new attaction -- the 301-foot WindSeeker tower -- isn't ready for opening day. It has been delayed by bad weather. Last year's Shoot the Rapids attraction opened a month late because of technical issues.
Cedar Fair Entertainment Chief Executive Dick Kinzel said the $5 million WindSeeker will open by Memorial Day at the latest. It twirls 64 riders in open, two-passenger cars at an elevation almost as high as the Millennium Force roller coaster's giant first hill.
Cedar Point is believed to be the largest seasonal amusement park in the United States, measured by the number of rides and attractions and hourly ride capacity, according to the company's web site. Industry magazine Amusement Today has named it the best amusement park in the world for 13 years running.
Despite Cedar Point's popularity, and that of its 16 sister parks such as Knott's Berry Farm near Los Angeles and King's Island near Cincinnati, the largest shareholder of parent company Cedar Fair has been trying to shake up management.
Two Texas companies that are part of shareholder Q Investments cranked up the pressure this week with a lawsuit claiming that Cedar Fair secretly adopted resolutions in 2004 that denied shareholders the right to nominate board candidates. The board members also made it practically impossible to override the rules, according to the lawsuit filed in federal court in Toledo by Q Funding III and Q4 Funding.
The lawsuit seeks damages from five members of Cedar Fair's board of directors, including Kinzel. Q filed similar complaints against the directors in Texas, citing Texas securities law, and in Delaware. The Delaware suit is against Cedar Fair itself.
The Q funds, located in Fort Worth, are controlled by Geoffrey Raynor, a Texas investment banker who has about 18 percent of Cedar Fair's outstanding shares.
A Cedar Fair spokeswoman said the Texas companies' assertions are false and denied that the rules mentioned in the lawsuit were a secret.
"We clearly described our nomination policy in the 2004 proxy statement and we were also clear that a nomination process was not part of the proposed 2004 governance changes," Stacy Frole said. "Every annual meeting proxy statement that Cedar Fair has filed since 2004 has also included clear language to this fact."
Besides suing, Q Investments has forced two special shareholders' meetings to challenge Cedar Fair governance practices.
At the first, in January, shareholders voted to split the duties of chief executive and board chairman, which Kinzel held jointly for years. The second special meeting is June 2. Shareholders will vote on whether they should be allowed to nominate board candidates.
A spokesman for Q Investments says the private-equity investor isn't interested in seizing control of Cedar Fair.
"Our focus right now is just trying to get the best corporate governance policies implemented at thsi company," Tom Johnson said. "If we fail to accomplish that, then we can talk about the next steps."
Pink's, which has been a Hollywood fixture since 1939 for its gourmet wieners, will open its first branch east of Las Vegas at Cedar Point.
However, Cedar Point's new attaction -- the 301-foot WindSeeker tower -- isn't ready for opening day. It has been delayed by bad weather. Last year's Shoot the Rapids attraction opened a month late because of technical issues.
Cedar Fair Entertainment Chief Executive Dick Kinzel said the $5 million WindSeeker will open by Memorial Day at the latest. It twirls 64 riders in open, two-passenger cars at an elevation almost as high as the Millennium Force roller coaster's giant first hill.
Cedar Point is believed to be the largest seasonal amusement park in the United States, measured by the number of rides and attractions and hourly ride capacity, according to the company's web site. Industry magazine Amusement Today has named it the best amusement park in the world for 13 years running.
Despite Cedar Point's popularity, and that of its 16 sister parks such as Knott's Berry Farm near Los Angeles and King's Island near Cincinnati, the largest shareholder of parent company Cedar Fair has been trying to shake up management.
Two Texas companies that are part of shareholder Q Investments cranked up the pressure this week with a lawsuit claiming that Cedar Fair secretly adopted resolutions in 2004 that denied shareholders the right to nominate board candidates. The board members also made it practically impossible to override the rules, according to the lawsuit filed in federal court in Toledo by Q Funding III and Q4 Funding.
The lawsuit seeks damages from five members of Cedar Fair's board of directors, including Kinzel. Q filed similar complaints against the directors in Texas, citing Texas securities law, and in Delaware. The Delaware suit is against Cedar Fair itself.
The Q funds, located in Fort Worth, are controlled by Geoffrey Raynor, a Texas investment banker who has about 18 percent of Cedar Fair's outstanding shares.
A Cedar Fair spokeswoman said the Texas companies' assertions are false and denied that the rules mentioned in the lawsuit were a secret.
"We clearly described our nomination policy in the 2004 proxy statement and we were also clear that a nomination process was not part of the proposed 2004 governance changes," Stacy Frole said. "Every annual meeting proxy statement that Cedar Fair has filed since 2004 has also included clear language to this fact."
At the first, in January, shareholders voted to split the duties of chief executive and board chairman, which Kinzel held jointly for years. The second special meeting is June 2. Shareholders will vote on whether they should be allowed to nominate board candidates.
A spokesman for Q Investments says the private-equity investor isn't interested in seizing control of Cedar Fair.
"Our focus right now is just trying to get the best corporate governance policies implemented at thsi company," Tom Johnson said. "If we fail to accomplish that, then we can talk about the next steps."
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