Travis Kelce’s Geauga Lake tribute: The story behind his nostalgic t-shirt and Ohio’s lost amusement park

While Jason Kelce celebrates the Tush Push being in the NFL to stay, his brother Travis is getting attention for a T-shirt he wore during a recent episode of their “New Heights” podcast.

The story behind Travis Kelce’s nostalgic Geauga Lake tee

Travis Kelce was born and grew up in Ohio, playing football (among other sports) at Cleveland Heights High School. He graduated in 2007, which was the same year that an iconic amusement park closed down in Ohio - an amusement park he chose to rep in his recent podcast episode.

Geauga Lake, named after a nearby lake, originally opened in Bainbridge Township and Aurora, Ohio in 1887. The first ride was added two years later with the first roller coaster added in 1925, called The Big Dipper. By 1969, it was a full-on amusement park.

By the early 2000s, the park was re-branded, adding four new roller coasters, changing the name to Six Flags Worlds of Adventure, and combining it with SeaWorld Ohio. The name change didn’t last long though. In 2004, the park was purchased by Cedar Fair and it was given back its original name, Geauga Lake. Together with the Sea World portion, which turned into a water park, they were called Geauga Lake and Wildwater Kingdom.

Unfortunately, in September 2007, the theme park shut down for good after facing a decline in attendance and financial difficulties. The waterpark portion stayed open until 2016, when it permanently closed as well.

But the park lives on in Kelce’s retro style as he rocked the Geauga Lake tee on his podcast, paying homage to the beloved park.

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