A recent Ohio Supreme Court ruling could mean Six Flags Inc. will have to pay Geauga County more than $2.5 million in personal property taxes on rides at the Bainbridge Township park.

At issue before the court was whether three rides at the park would be considered real or personal property for the purposes of taxation.

The court found in a 4-3 decision released Dec. 22 that the Grizzly Run, Mind Eraser and Skyscraper rides were "business fixtures" rather than real property, and therefore subject to sales and use taxes assessed by the state tax commissioner in the late 1990s.

Oklahoma City-based Six Flags sold the park last year to Cedar Fair LP, whose parks include Cedar Point in Sandusky.

Six Flags had appealed the assessments to the state Board of Tax Appeals, contending that the rides were "structures" as defined by Ohio Revised Code, and thus exempt from sales and use taxes.

The code defines a structure as "a permanent fabrication or construction, other than a building, that is attached or affixed to land, and that increases or enhances utilization or enjoyment of the land."