BeeastFarmer Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 Once the rides were gone and they didn't invest in the waterpark, the writing was on the wall. Coney lovers, would you rather it die a slow, festering, miserable, stinky death, or amputate the gangrene and start fresh? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beastfan11 Posted January 22 Share Posted January 22 Though previously announced to be moved to another venue, Summerfair will return to Coney Isl… er, Riverbend Park. Edit: Riverbend Park has now been changed to Coney Island per Summerfair and MEMI. Not sure if any of that is significant, but an update nonetheless: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldiesmann Posted January 25 Author Share Posted January 25 I'm wondering if that's just for this year, given that it would have been difficult for them to book a different venue on such short notice. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teenageninja Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 I'm glad they were able to keep it. My wife and I really enjoy the Summerfair. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beastfan11 Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 From Cincinnati.com: https://www.cincinnati.com/story/opinion/contributors/2024/01/26/its-time-to-boycott-memi-cso-to-save-coney-island/72317212007/?fbclid=IwAR1vsKlHh5At0S785Hffc4LBARxhWfGOMVgWhnLQhCVl3kPk0Fr5ecVkL-s_aem_AW4M5Er3yaJ0Ufe4oP1oUTm3EJHf-EHY4dfOeLnk0RTX0paZNYU0McNO-N59yDHqvOU#lrv5eim9jwmj0a60ix Quote MEMI, CSO must be punished with a boycott to save Coney Island | Opinion These business have decided that financial profits matter more than the desires of the community they operate in. This loss of public trust will then flow through directly to the balance sheet and income statement, exactly as it should whenever a company fails to listen to its customers. Despite widespread calls from the Cincinnati community to preserve Sunlite Pool and Coney Island, MEMI and CSO have willfully ignored the needs of the people through their silence and refusal to comment. Even after receiving multiple petitions totaling over 20,000 signatures asking to keep Coney Island open, MEMI has proven its disregard for the voices of everyday Cincinnatians by continuing on with its plans to pave over Sunlite Pool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldiesmann Posted January 27 Author Share Posted January 27 And again silence from anyone who was in charge at Coney. They got their money and are all too happy to let MEMI take the blame for this. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beastfan11 Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 7 hours ago, Oldiesmann said: And again silence from anyone who was in charge at Coney. They got their money and are all too happy to let MEMI take the blame for this. Former ownership are cowards. They won’t say anything because their incompetence has been on full display for years. One embarrassing scenario after another. I wouldn’t expect them to say anything because they might be too stupid to know what to say. MEMI definitely deserves some blame. They’ve handled this horrendously. The extent of their communication since the purchase of the park has basically been, “change is hard, move on” which is a terrible way to treat your potential customers. Which is now having a trickle down effect on other organizations, like the CSO, who now stand to lose support. Which is tragic. But former Coney ownership are crooks. Selling 2024 season passes literally weeks leading up to the sale and then pulling the rug out from everyone. And now… silence. Again, cowards. Stupid situation that’s been years in the works. Totally avoidable. Who knows what will happen. Bricks are being torn up around the pool and then being returned to people, then they start replanting/maintains/regrowing the green space around the pool. Summerfair is forced to move and then… they’re allowed to host it at the newly renamed and unannounced “Riverbend Park.” And then, after backlash, “Riverbend Park” disappears and is replaced with “Coney Island.” To be honest, I believe we know just as much (or just as little) about the future of the site as MEMI does. They did not expect this type of negative attention and resistance from people. Their lack of communication displays that. I hope they make the right decision, but have little faith they will. Imagine announcing the largest expansion of your already-too-large collection of monopolizing music venues, only to have 23,000+ sign a petition telling you how much they hate that idea. Petitions don’t do anything, but the fact it’s been heavily promoted across social media, and circulated across online, print, and TV journalism. That’s a bad look. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tr0y Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 2 hours ago, beastfan11 said: Former ownership are cowards. They won’t say anything because their incompetence has been on full display for years. One embarrassing scenario after another. I wouldn’t expect them to say anything because they might be too stupid to know what to say. MEMI definitely deserves some blame. They’ve handled this horrendously. The extent of their communication since the purchase of the park has basically been, “change is hard, move on” which is a terrible way to treat your potential customers. Which is now having a trickle down effect on other organizations, like the CSO, who now stand to lose support. Which is tragic. But former Coney ownership are crooks. Selling 2024 season passes literally weeks leading up to the sale and then pulling the rug out from everyone. And now… silence. Again, cowards. Stupid situation that’s been years in the works. Totally avoidable. Who knows what will happen. Bricks are being torn up around the pool and then being returned to people, then they start replanting/maintains/regrowing the green space around the pool. Summerfair is forced to move and then… they’re allowed to host it at the newly renamed and unannounced “Riverbend Park.” And then, after backlash, “Riverbend Park” disappears and is replaced with “Coney Island.” To be honest, I believe we know just as much (or just as little) about the future of the site as MEMI does. They did not expect this type of negative attention and resistance from people. Their lack of communication displays that. I hope they make the right decision, but have little faith they will. Imagine announcing the largest expansion of your already-too-large collection of monopolizing music venues, only to have 23,000+ sign a petition telling you how much they hate that idea. Petitions don’t do anything, but the fact it’s been heavily promoted across social media, and circulated across online, print, and TV journalism. That’s a bad look. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disco2000 Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 23,000+ signing a petition in the Greater Cincinnati area of approximately 2.3 million people is statistically insignificant in the big picture. No company can make 100% of the people happy. Heck just look at this site and it appears most aren't happy with KI 23,000 passholders probably wouldn't generate enough revenue to have even stayed open. More people from outside Greater Cincinnati will attend concerts than those from outside the area attending Coney Island. A concert venue will have a bigger impact on increased revenue to the tax base, and a much bigger source of income to the local governments than a pool. Granted the size of this would never be able to bring current day Taylor Swift, but ask Cincinnati how much her concerts here brought to the coffers of city hall ($1M), not counting all the private entities that saw a pay day from restaurants to hotels ($92M)... To many people this sucks. But at the end of the day, if these people don't like it, take up a GoFundme and buy the land from MEMI. As property owners, they have a right to do what they want on their property regardless of what others think and that includes selling it. Further, as a citizen you have the right to not attend an event there and not give them your money. But others will and in bigger numbers than Coney saw. The fact of the matter is the concert venue will do well even with a boycott and bring in far more revenue than the outcry of 23,000 people, many of which probably haven't been to Coney in years and many that are not even part of the tax base demanding the city and Anderson Township intervene.... 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beastfan11 Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 23 hours ago, disco2000 said: 23,000+ signing a petition in the Greater Cincinnati area of approximately 2.3 million people is statistically insignificant in the big picture. No company can make 100% of the people happy. Heck just look at this site and it appears most aren't happy with KI 23,000 passholders probably wouldn't generate enough revenue to have even stayed open. More people from outside Greater Cincinnati will attend concerts than those from outside the area attending Coney Island. A concert venue will have a bigger impact on increased revenue to the tax base, and a much bigger source of income to the local governments than a pool. Granted the size of this would never be able to bring current day Taylor Swift, but ask Cincinnati how much her concerts here brought to the coffers of city hall ($1M), not counting all the private entities that saw a pay day from restaurants to hotels ($92M)... To many people this sucks. But at the end of the day, if these people don't like it, take up a GoFundme and buy the land from MEMI. As property owners, they have a right to do what they want on their property regardless of what others think and that includes selling it. Further, as a citizen you have the right to not attend an event there and not give them your money. But others will and in bigger numbers than Coney saw. The fact of the matter is the concert venue will do well even with a boycott and bring in far more revenue than the outcry of 23,000 people, many of which probably haven't been to Coney in years and many that are not even part of the tax base demanding the city and Anderson Township intervene.... Do you really have nothing better to do with your time than reply to every post I make in this thread? Seriously. If you have such an issue with this thread, myself, the park, and those who care to save it, then why not just stay off of this part of the forums? No one is forcing you to respond. Some people actually care and are enthusiasts of history, parks, the industry, and all that’s involved. If that’s not you, that’s fine. It costs you absolutely nothing to abstain from this conversation. We get it. You don’t care. Please stop and let the people who do want to do something have an opportunity to share their thoughts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeeastFarmer Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 I don't see how they could be labeled as crooks. They refunded passes and allowed gift cards to be redeemed or refunded. (Or maybe it was part of the contract of sale that mama would bear those costs and mama was the money source). Coney owners took away memories past and future most likely. But the only people who know the rationale of selling are the ones involved...not us. Maybe it was a decision made in October. Passes already sold. Maybe it was made two years ago, but they relied on pass sales money to run their business. People seem to forget that 4 years ago, we started to hear about a highly contagious virus in China around now, the likes of which has had devastating effects worldwide. Imagine if you made 100k in 2019. Things are going great! Now in 2020, because of sickness, you only make 10k. Then in 2021, you only make 40k because you owed the 60k to you banker. And your costs for everything have gone up exponentially, taking away 20k. In 2022, you claw your way up to 90k, but your costs have gone up more, so now you are just taking away 60k. In 2023, you've gone back down again to 80k and your costs remain steady at 30k. Now you have 50k. In four years you have made $140k. Had a catastrophic event not happened, all things being equal, you would have made 400k. You are barely surviving, if at all, because you lost 360k. This is why we see things like Coney Island close and SIX and FUN combine. I'd expect more fallout for years. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disco2000 Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 1 hour ago, beastfan11 said: Do you really have nothing better to do with your time than reply to every post I make in this thread? Seriously. If you have such an issue with this thread, myself, the park, and those who care to save it, then why not just stay off of this part of the forums? No one is forcing you to respond. Some people actually care and are enthusiasts of history, parks, the industry, and all that’s involved. If that’s not you, that’s fine. You’re obviously ignorant to the importance and the history of Coney. It costs you absolutely nothing to abstain from this conversation. We get it. You don’t care. Please stop and let the people who do want to do something have an opportunity to share their thoughts. I am by far not the only one on this thread that gets the property owners can do as they please, so why attack just me... If you don't like people presenting a different view point than yours, then that is your problem, not mine. I am not violating any TOS by providing a rational difference of opinion than your emotionally driven viewpoint. I have as much right to post a differing viewpoint just as you do against mine... Sometimes change happens - many companies or places with historical significance have closed over the years due to a variety of issues and this is no different. If you think I don't have a connection to Coney Island and its historical significance, you are sorely mistaken and my emotional connections may even be deeper than yours... But when I take the emotional aspect away and look at it logically, a property owner's bundle of rights is legally binding and my emotional connection to the place is not... It sucks, but my emotional connection or its historical significance wasn't paying their bills... If someone doesn't like a piece of property is changing its use and thinks they can keep it running as is, then buy it. I have seen groups of people buy something that was going to be demo'd and changed to something else and they bought it and kept it as is. And I have seen others that when they looked at the financials, determined it wasn't worth buying and didn't want to take it in the shorts financially just for their emotional connection... How would you like it if you tried to sell your property and the neighbors wouldn't let you? That isn't the way it works, emotional or historical significance or not. Some people also forget the place was slated to close in the early 70s and in fact a book was written about it saying Goodbye to Coney. The fact that Coney lasted this long after originally being scheduled to shut down when KI was built is just extra years, but outside of Moonlight and Sunlite, the memories disappeared when most of the stuff was sold off or destroyed then... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tr0y Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 I'm probably in the minority but I'm a bit excited about the potential of what can come from this. $118 Million is a significant investment going into that area. They could repurpose some of the old buildings along the original midway of Coney Island and turn that into an area that has bars and restaurants and really make it a place to hang out before the concert starts. Being that the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra having deep roots in Music entertainment. I can't picture them wanting to bulldoze a historical entertainment venue such as Moonlight Gardens. It would be nice to see them give it the TLC it deserves and make it a place where it can be viewed again by the public versus being left to rot, along with everything else on the dry side of Coney Island. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orion-XL200 Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 3 hours ago, Tr0y said: I'm probably in the minority but I'm a bit excited about the potential of what can come from this. $118 Million is a significant investment going into that area. They could repurpose some of the old buildings along the original midway of Coney Island and turn that into an area that has bars and restaurants and really make it a place to hang out before the concert starts. Being that the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra having deep roots in Music entertainment. I can't picture them wanting to bulldoze a historical entertainment venue such as Moonlight Gardens. It would be nice to see them give it the TLC it deserves and make it a place where it can be viewed again by the public versus being left to rot, along with everything else on the dry side of Coney Island. I haven't looked at any plans (if they've even put them out there) but if they'd make it an entire entertainment district with the casino, music venues, Moonlight Gardens already in place with the addition of what you suggest @Tr0y, and maybe even places like Pins Mechanical or Dave and Busters, it could be very promising. An occasional visit from the Central Ohio area would be made on my end. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disco2000 Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 An entertainment district would be a great idea and a way to generate more year round income. Would have some of the usual challenges of that property in overcoming the flooding, so it would be interesting to see a cost/benefit analysis on making that happen. Plus something year round would stand a better chance at significant enough improvements to the traffic nightmare that exists on concert nights. Toss in a paddle wagon too and you would frequent it a little more 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orion-XL200 Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 5 hours ago, disco2000 said: Toss in a paddle wagon too and you would frequent it a little more I'm not a big fan of those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tr0y Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 1 hour ago, Orion-XL200 said: I'm not a big fan of those. Yeah falling off one does that to you. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orion-XL200 Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 7 minutes ago, Tr0y said: Yeah falling off one does that to you. I'm so confused. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brenthodge Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 On 1/27/2024 at 4:26 PM, beastfan11 said: Do you really have nothing better to do with your time than reply to every post I make in this thread? Seriously. If you have such an issue with this thread, myself, the park, and those who care to save it, then why not just stay off of this part of the forums? No one is forcing you to respond. Some people actually care and are enthusiasts of history, parks, the industry, and all that’s involved. If that’s not you, that’s fine. It costs you absolutely nothing to abstain from this conversation. We get it. You don’t care. Please stop and let the people who do want to do something have an opportunity to share their thoughts. Do you really have nothing better to do than slam people who have an opinion different than yours, and support it with logical reasoning? It is unfortunate that it is closing, but the people that keep trying to “force” it to stay open through boycotts, petitions and squashing logic are just wasting the time they could spend celebrating happier memories. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brenthodge Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 On 1/27/2024 at 4:59 PM, disco2000 said: I am by far not the only one on this thread that gets the property owners can do as they please, so why attack just me... If you don't like people presenting a different view point than yours, then that is your problem, not mine. I am not violating any TOS by providing a rational difference of opinion than your emotionally driven viewpoint. I have as much right to post a differing viewpoint just as you do against mine... Sometimes change happens - many companies or places with historical significance have closed over the years due to a variety of issues and this is no different. If you think I don't have a connection to Coney Island and its historical significance, you are sorely mistaken and my emotional connections may even be deeper than yours... But when I take the emotional aspect away and look at it logically, a property owner's bundle of rights is legally binding and my emotional connection to the place is not... It sucks, but my emotional connection or its historical significance wasn't paying their bills... If someone doesn't like a piece of property is changing its use and thinks they can keep it running as is, then buy it. I have seen groups of people buy something that was going to be demo'd and changed to something else and they bought it and kept it as is. And I have seen others that when they looked at the financials, determined it wasn't worth buying and didn't want to take it in the shorts financially just for their emotional connection... How would you like it if you tried to sell your property and the neighbors wouldn't let you? That isn't the way it works, emotional or historical significance or not. Some people also forget the place was slated to close in the early 70s and in fact a book was written about it saying Goodbye to Coney. The fact that Coney lasted this long after originally being scheduled to shut down when KI was built is just extra years, but outside of Moonlight and Sunlite, the memories disappeared when most of the stuff was sold off or destroyed then... Thanks for being a logical thinking person in a land of looney passion! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tr0y Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 Leaders seek $20M from taxpayers to help symphony with Coney Island conversion: https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2024/02/01/leaders-want-20-million-from-ohio-for-coney-island-music-venue/72435678007/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disco2000 Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 12 minutes ago, Tr0y said: Leaders seek $20M from taxpayers to help symphony with Coney Island conversion: https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2024/02/01/leaders-want-20-million-from-ohio-for-coney-island-music-venue/72435678007/ Oh boy that is gonna tick off the Save Coney crowd.... But for those that will jump on it without reading the article, by leaders, they do not mean elected officials. They mean leaders in the business community like the CEOs of Western&Southern, FC Cincinnati, and the Cincinnati Regional Chamber of Commerce that are part of a Task Force looking at ways to encourage and support economic development in the region. Basically they think this will create more money for the area than a pool does. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoddaH1994 Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonHelbig Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 Cincinnati group requests $20 million of taxpayer money for Coney Island project. https://local12.com/news/local/local-group-request-20-million-taxpayer-money-project-coney-island-ohio-general-assembly-cincinnati-symphony-orchestra-music-venue-entertainment-campus-hamilton-county-prioritization-task-force-duke-energy-convention-center-xavier-osteopathic-medicial 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJSkyFoxx Posted February 5 Share Posted February 5 On 2/2/2024 at 3:00 PM, BoddaH1994 said: I wonder how much they'd want for that sign Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tr0y Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 Eat cheese coneys to save Coney Island: https://www.citybeat.com/food-drink/eat-cheese-coneys-this-weekend-to-help-save-coney-islands-sunlite-pool-16932007?fbclid=IwAR3Br3tTzcgZKcz1YE3it_Z1LdxOoCIpqTfRV9v4i8_dvITgL2em4l-9zWk_aem_AWqNViYky4CNdgvzZYWceDKKWnPAbyKYn6k9ZnFwDcbfm33RDsCFoblr80R1cCbjbLg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IBEW_Sparky Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 It is admittedly a positive effort, but coming from a BIG BIG Geauga Lake fan, there isnt a single D amn thing that will change their planned course of action. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disco2000 Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 11 hours ago, IBEW_Sparky said: It is admittedly a positive effort, but coming from a BIG BIG Geauga Lake fan, there isnt a single D amn thing that will change their planned course of action. Not only that, but unless they can come up with more than $8M to buy it (or more than that local restaurant does in an entire year if not two or more years), it just seems like there are better causes. But I guess if it stirs up more business for the local Salem Gardens and they overall make more money than they would on a typical February Saturday to offset donating a dollar for every coney purchased, then it is worth it to them.....as long as the pro-concert crowd doesn't try to cancel them and boycott them.... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beastfan11 Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 There are now Billboards: 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beastfan11 Posted March 2 Share Posted March 2 And so it begins. For those of you have shown your love, passion, and support: thank you for trying to preserve an important piece of Cincinnati history. For those who of you have loved to spread your contrarian opinions for the sake of garnering attention to yourself: I congratulate you on your victory, though I’m dismayed at your ability to actively fight against the preservation of industry history on a forum dedicated to celebrating a shared love of amusement and theme parks. History will certainly look upon you comedically. The loss of Coney Island and Sunlite Pool will be detrimental to the history of Cincinnati and I hope you find peace within yourself as to not celebrate the destruction of what so many loved. For those who’d still like to fight for the park, reach out to those below: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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