User:Hmich176/Hershey Lake Compounce

Hershey Lake Compounce was an amusement park owned by Hershey Entertainment & Resorts Company (HERCO) from 1985 to 1987. The Norton family, who had owned Lake Compounce for over 130 years, sold two-thirds control of the park to Hershey Entertainment & Resorts. The park officially opened on July 4, 1986. Due to cost overruns, attendance not meeting expectations, and Hershey Entertainment & Resorts having financial difficulties with hotel properties in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Corpus Christi, Texas and White Haven, Pennsylvania, the park only operated for two seasons. Hershey Entertainment & Resorts sold the park to Joseph Entertainment Group in May 1988.

History

Park operations

• spent more than $22 million on renovations to the park ("Compounce Owner Eager to Update Park" Jack Cavanaugh, NY Times, Published: June 12, 1988)

• Bristol City estimated rougly $25 million on renovations ("Bristol Fights Park Closing" Robert A. Hamilton, NY Times, Published: October 11, 1987)

Closure

• HERCO announced it was withdrawing it's investment in Hershey Lake Compounce several days after the end of the 1987 season.

• HERCO's annoucement that they were pulling out of Lake Compounce was met with surprise and anger from Bristol and Southington officials, such as Bristol's mayor, as well as local residence. Most felt that HERCO simply didn't give the park enough chance.

• had lost more than $18 million in the two years it operated the park ("Compounce Owner Eager to Update Park" Jack Cavanaugh, NY Times, Published: June 12, 1988)

• HERCO was moving in a different direction from where they had when purchasing Lake Compounce in 1985. J. Bruce McKinney became CEO of Hershey Entertainment & Resorts in August 1987. Due to significant financial troubles with hotels in the Pocono Mountains, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Corpus Christi, Texas, the new CEO decided to shed non-Hershey, Pennsylvania located entities. It was only two months later, the company announced the closure of Hershey Lake Compounce.