Partnership Organization

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Partnership Organization

Partnership Organization:

Cedar Fair, L.P. (together with its affiliated companies, the "Partnership") is a Delaware limited partnership that commenced operations in 1983 when it acquired Cedar Point, Inc., and became a publicly traded partnership in 1987. The Partnership's general partner is Cedar Fair Management, Inc., an Ohio corporation (the “General Partner”), whose shares are held by an Ohio trust. The General Partner owns a 0.001% interest in the Partnership's income, losses and cash distributions, except in defined circumstances, and has full responsibility for management of the Partnership. As of December 31, 2020, there were 56,706,338 outstanding limited partnership units listed on The New York Stock Exchange, net of 355,645 units held in treasury. As of December 31, 2019, there were 56,666,418 outstanding limited partnership units listed, net of 395,565 units held in treasury.

The General Partner may, with the approval of a specified percentage of the limited partners, make additional capital contributions to the Partnership, but is only obligated to do so if the liabilities of the Partnership cannot otherwise be paid or there exists a negative balance in its capital account at the time of its withdrawal from the Partnership. The General Partner, in accordance with the terms of the Partnership Agreement, is required to make regular cash distributions on a quarterly basis of all the Partnership's available cash, as defined in the Partnership Agreement. Following the closure of our parks in March 2020 in response to COVID-19 health recommendations, the Board of Directors suspended quarterly partnership distributions to maintain flexibility and additional liquidity. The Board of Directors is committed to reinstitute quarterly partnership distributions in accordance with the Partnership Agreement when it is appropriate to do so, and it is permissible under the Third Amended 2017 Credit Agreement and our other debt covenants. Prior to the suspension of quarterly partnership distributions, the General Partner paid $0.935 per limited partner unit in partnership distributions, or approximately $53.0 million in aggregate, in the first quarter of 2020.