Amusement park company partners with college on new degree

SANDUSKY, Ohio (AP) - The parent company for Ohio’s Cedar Point amusement park is partnering with a nearby university to offer a new degree program to train students for management jobs in the tourism industry.

Bowling Green State University will offer classes on resort management at a new campus that will be built in Sandusky, home of Cedar Point and its parent company, Cedar Fair.

Students in the four-year program would spend the last two years at the Sandusky campus and will be able to work entry-level jobs at Cedar Point or another Cedar Fair park during summers.

Bowling Green President Rodney Rogers said existing hospitality management programs don’t cover all the issues that arise at amusement parks.

“In many ways, these general managers are running a small city,” Rogers told Cleveland.com. “It’s almost more like a city manager than hospitality management.”

Cedar Fair will build classrooms and dorms for 200 students on land provided by the city. The campus could open as soon as 2020.

Sandusky City Manager Eric Wobser acknowledged that the timeframe seemed tight, but said he thinks Cedar Point’s experience quickly erecting massive roller coasters will help.

“The good news is that Cedar Point is used to building fast,” he said.