A group of stockholders upset with the performance of Great Wolf Resorts is trying to drum up support for three nominees to the Madison company's board of directors and is calling for a thorough review of the company's finances and compensation packages to executives.

The Concerned Great Wolf Stockholders Committee also wants to review all current and proposed development projects and is soliciting proxies to be used at the annual Great Wolf Resorts stockholder meeting May 28 in Falls Church, Va. The committee wants three large shareholders, Eric Hovde, Richard Murray III and Eric Lund, elected to the seven-member board.

The committee is composed of the three nominees plus nine foundations, trusts or financial institutions, and Steven D. Hovde.

Eric Hovde is co-founder and chief executive officer of Hovde Capital Advisors in Washington, D.C.

Lund is a former executive vice president with Great Wolf Resorts and co-founder and chief executive officer of Fitchburg-based S&L Hospitality.

Murray is a senior investment analyst with Hovde Capital Advisors.

Great Wolf officials were not available for comment Friday.

According to its filing Thursday with the federal Securities and Exchange Commission, the group owns more than 1.7 million shares of Great Wolf stock.

"We believe that it is time for a change in the composition of the board and that it will be in the best interests of the company's stockholders if several of the board's non-employee members have, or are nominees of persons who have, significant equity interests in the company," the committee said in its filing. "We are disappointed with the company's operating and stock performance, and we believe that the board has not adequately overseen the company's management team."

Measures the committee wants taken are:

• Board of directors meetings at least eight times a year.

• A review of strategic options and operating and construction expenses.

• Restructuring of compensation expenses "to ensure that compensation properly motivates employees" by linking compensation to operating performance.

• An evaluation of current and future capital and debt needs.

• An evaluation of existing and proposed development projects "to ensure that the company is pursuing an intelligent growth strategy."

"We believe that the board has not provided management with proper incentives to maximize stockholder value and, instead, has rewarded management with lucrative compensation packages despite the company's poor operating and stock performance," according to the committee's SEC statement.

Great Wolf Resorts, through its subsidiaries and affiliates, owns and operates 10 resorts in the U.S. and Canada. Its Wisconsin properties are a Great Wolf Lodge in Lake Delton and the Blue Harbor Resort in Sheboygan. The company has projects under construction or planned in Grand Mound, Wash., and Concord, N.C.

Great Wolf's stock closed Friday at $6.80, down 6 cents. Over the last 52 weeks, the stock has traded in a range from $6.29 to $15.85 per share.