Latest news with #GreatAmerica
Fast Company
15 hours ago
- Business
- Fast Company
Six Flags says no final decision on the closure of California's Great America has been made—yet
Good night, Great America? Amusement park operator Six Flags Entertainment Corporation may close its Santa Clara, California-based Great America park after five decades, according to comments made by company leaders at its most recent investor day event, which was held on May 20. The catalyst for the potential closure is that the company's lease is up, and if it's not extended, Great America could shut down at the end of its 2027 season. 'Unless we decide to extend, and exercise one of our options to extend that lease, that park's last year without that extension would be after the [20]27 season,' said Brian Witherow, Six Flags' CFO, during that meeting. Witherow went on to say that the company has had difficulty contending with rising costs in recent years, particularly labor costs. Some parks 'have seen their wage rate go from $10, $11 [per hour], to $17, $18. That's a lot to absorb,' he said. He went on to refer to the Santa Clara park as 'low on the ranking of margins.' That said, nothing is definite, and Six Flags tells Fast Company that no final decision has been made about the park's fate. 'As previously announced at the time of the sale, the park's land lease will expire in 2028 with a potential five-year renewal option,' a spokesperson for Six Flags' West region said in a statement. 'At this time, we are still in the planning stages and are working with stakeholders and engaging the community. Until we know more, we remain focused on the great season that's already underway at the park and the events ahead.' Reevaluating a sprawling empire of amusements Six Flags recently announced the closure of another park—Six Flags America and Hurricane Harbor, in Bowie, Maryland—which the company determined was 'not a strategic fit with the company's long-term growth plan,' in the words of CEO Richard Zimmerman. Six Flags, whose merger with Cedar Fair was completed a year ago, operates parks in 18 states (17, following the Maryland-based parks closure), as well as parks in Mexico, and in two Canadian provinces. In all, that includes 56 parks—42 amusement or theme parks and 14 water parks. Over the years, it has also closed or sold parks in New Orleans (due to Hurricane Katrina in 2005), Ohio, Washington, and Kentucky, among other locations. Shares of Six Flags Entertainment Corporation (NYSE: FUN) are down more than 32% year to date. Great America first opened in 1976 as a Marriott-branded park, called Marriott's Great America, and if it were to close in 2027, it would be shortly after its 51st year in operation.
Daily Mail
19 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Six Flags park closures continue with California site on the line
California residents who are looking for their next stomach-churning thrill might soon have one less option. Six Flags California's Great America is likely nearing its final days, the amusement park chain's CFO, Brian Witherow, said during a recent investor day. 'Unless we decide to extend, and exercise one of our options to extend that lease, that park's last year without that extension would be after the '27 season,' he said, according to People . The potential closure means roller coasters could take their final loops after Halloween 2027 — and the move is part of a larger shakeup in the theme park world. It comes soon after the company announced in May it would close a Maryland park for good in November . For Bay Area residents, the potential closure isn't a huge shock. 'If they decide to close it rather than sell it off or make some kind of other arrangement, that's understandable,' one local said on Reddit. 'It seems like they are just counting the days until the end.' Back in 2020, Cedar Fair — the corporation that used to own the park — sold the land beneath it to Prologis, San Francisco-based real estate firm for $310 million. The deal helped bring in cash while the park was shut down during the pandemic. As part of that deal, Prologis included a stipulation that it could boot the amusement park with just two years' notice. The theme park sits on 112 acres next to Levi's Stadium, where the San Francisco 49ers play. Prologis is reportedly planning to redevelop the land into real estate and retail spaces designed to serve game-day crowds hunting for a Brock Purdy win. 'We're focused on identifying and partnering with planning and design experts to help us create a master plan for the property,' Jennifer Nelson, a spokesperson for the real estate company, said during an interview with the LA Times . Inside, the park has reportedly seen better days. Attractions now include a series of twirling rides that lack the adrenaline-inducing thrill many guests expect, according to SFGate . The publication also found that, like many other amusement parks, California's Great America also charges steep prices for food and drinks . The looming shutdown comes amid a wave of changes for Six Flags. In 2024, the company finalized an $8 billion merger with Cedar Fair, forming a theme park powerhouse that now operates 42 amusement parks across the US.
The Independent
a day ago
- Business
- The Independent
Six Flags to close another park months after announcing the closure of its Maryland location
Six Flags is shutting down another theme park after announcing that it will close a location in Maryland. The theme park giant announced that it plans to close its Great America park in California at the end of its 2027 season, a full year before its lease on the land ends. The announcement was made during a recent investors' meeting, according to PEOPLE. 'Unless we decide to extend, and exercise one of our options to extend that lease, that park's last year without that extension would be after the '27 season,' Six Flags Chief Financial Officer Brian Witherow told PEOPLE. He said that Great America, located in Santa Clara, California, and Six Flags America in Bowie, Maryland, were "very low on the ranking of margins." Six Flags Great America began 50 years ago under the name Marriott's Great Adventure, and had several owners in the years since, including Paramount and Cedar Fair, which went on to merge with Six Flags in 2024. Great America was originally built on public land, but Cedar Fair purchased the site in 2019 and later sold it to a real estate firm, Prologis, in 2022. Prologis bought the land for $310 million and agreed to let the park stay at the site until the lease ended in June 2028. That agreement came with the potential for a five-year extension by Six Flags. At the time of the sale, Cedar Fair announced it planned to close the park at the end of its lease. Prologis has not announced what may replace the theme park once it is closed and its rides and attractions disassembled. 'We're focused on identifying and partnering with planning and design experts to help us create a master plan for the property, working with the city and community along the way," the company told the Los Angeles Times in January. Six Flags America in Maryland will close at the end of its 2025 season, according to the company. 'As part of our comprehensive review of our park portfolio, we have determined that Six Flags America and Hurricane Harbor are not a strategic fit with the company's long-term growth plan,' CEO Richard A. Zimmerman said in a statement. That site will be sold for redevelopment.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Lopez: Reopen Alcatraz as a prison? Yes, but Trump shouldn't stop there
I have just one thing to say about President Trump's proposal to reopen Alcatraz as a prison for ruthless offenders. What took you so long? The "Rock," as it has sometime been referred to, sits uselessly in the middle of the San Francisco Bay, criminally underutilized as a tourist destination. I've been there, and the beauty of the location is that back when cons tried to go over the wall, sharks were on duty 24/7, working as unpaid prison guards. As Trump said, one guy tried to escape many years ago, and "they found his clothing, rather badly ripped up. It was a lot of shark bites, lot of problems." Speaking of problems, critics who think this is a nutty idea say it would cost a fortune to rebuild the run-down property, which once housed the likes of Al Capone and George "Machine Gun" Kelly but has been shuttered since 1963. A former Alcatraz tour guide said there's no running water, no sanitation and no heat. Yes, but it's a prison, not a spa. A "symbol of law and order," in the words of Trump, who should know. After all, he's a convicted felon. Although I think Trump is onto something here, my one quibble is that he's not thinking grandly enough. California has a lot of underutilized resources, so let's open our minds to the possibilities. Less than an hour south of Alcatraz, in Santa Clara, an amusement park called Great America has been tanking for decades, and the property was just sold to a developer in what could be the beginning of the end for the once-thriving attraction. But hold everything. I have an idea. How about changing the name from Great America to Make America Great Again? Kids will love the RFK Jr. Fluoride-Free Water Slide. Step right up to the Gavin Newsom dunk tank, and climb aboard the high-speed ICE Train to Deportation Station. I also have an idea for the nearby Oakland Coliseum, which has been rudely abandoned by both the football Raiders and the baseball A's. Read more: 7 million people have Alzheimer's. Why is the Trump administration derailing research? I grew up in that stadium and can tell you that Raider fans, in particular, were not a timid lot. The word "rabid" may be a stretch, but let's just say they expressed themselves with little or no inhibition, much like the crew that invaded and ransacked the U.S. Capitol after a joint session of Congress had the audacity to formalize the victory of Joe Biden That gang of patriots has been pardoned by President Trump, but I don't know if they've found work yet. So here's the pitch: What self-respecting, MAGA-hat-wearing Trump fanatic wouldn't pay good money to watch live performances by antler-wearing, U.S. flag-waving, pardoned revolutionaries at the rebranded January 6 Coliseum: Where Medieval Times Meets Modern Politics? They could go full gladiator to the cheers of the crowd. Give them ropes and muskets, dress them in skins and watch them scale a replica of the Capitol, smash windows, hunt cowering politicians and attack security forces like the heroes we know them to be. Some of these proposals could be difficult to execute, I'll admit, but not if another California landmark is put to better use: Let's turn Hearst Castle into the Western White House. The onetime lair of newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst is currently a Central Coast state park, but, if you recall, Trump wrote a little book called "The Art of the Deal." All he has to do is call Gov. Newsom and say hey, buddy, how badly would you like to have more wildfire relief funds for Altadena and Pacific Palisades? Trump sons Eric and Donald Jr. have been gallivanting around the world, pitching a billion-dollar hotel deal in Dubai, a residential tower in Saudi Arabia and a golf course and villa in Qatar, to which I say, "Well done, boys." But after so many years of public service, don't you deserve to live in a castle? Once they're ensconced in San Simeon's 115-room Casa Grande, the Trump brothers could make Dad proud by dismantling the state's pesky coastal commission, expanding offshore drilling and bringing a touch of the Atlantic City experience to the West Coast. Big Sur is OK, but I can't think of a single hotel there with either a casino or a prime rib buffet. Read more: Half a century ago, Californians saved the coast. Will Trump threats spark another uprising? Imagine a Mar-a-Lago Monterey in California's near future. And how about a 60-story Trump Tower Torrance, with a rooftop driving range and golden beach umbrellas. The Western White House could also run interference for SpaceX founder Elon Musk, whose attempts to shoot off more rockets at Vandenberg Space Force Base have been stymied by regulators at the aforementioned coastal commission. I say the more moonshots the better, and I'm talking about one-way trips. Load up those rockets with political enemies, lying news media, the bad hombres and lunatic judges. You can add biomedical researchers and climate scientists to the manifest too, because they're going to be out of work anyway. I'm just spitballing here, but I think the Queen Mary could easily be repurposed as a floating prison, to handle overflow from Alcatraz. L.A.'s Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels can be a Vatican satellite when Trump becomes pope. With his crypto wealth growing by billions in recent months, Trump could take over Arena in downtown Los Angeles and turn it into a personal piggy bank. And thanks to tariffs, there could be enough room in all of the empty cargo containers at the ports of L.A. and Long Beach to eliminate homelessness overnight. All that can stand in the way of making America great again is a lack of imagination, so feel free to send me your own ideas about how to make better use of existing resources. But first, let me share one more of mine. From the banks of Alcatraz, you can almost toss a frisbee to nearby Angel Island, which is also vastly underutilized. I've been there, and it's a perfectly lovely state park with stunning 360-degree views. But do you know what it used to be used for? In the first half of the last century, hundreds of thousands of immigrants were processed, interrogated and detained on the island. And the barracks are still there. What are we waiting for? Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Reopen Alcatraz as a prison? Yes, but Trump shouldn't stop there
I have just one thing to say about President Trump's proposal to reopen Alcatraz as a prison for ruthless offenders. What took you so long? The 'Rock,' as it has sometime been referred to, sits uselessly in the middle of the San Francisco Bay, criminally underutilized as a tourist destination. I've been there, and the beauty of the location is that back when cons tried to go over the wall, sharks were on duty 24/7, working as unpaid prison guards. As Trump said, one guy tried to escape many years ago, and 'they found his clothing, rather badly ripped up. It was a lot of shark bites, lot of problems.' Speaking of problems, critics who think this is a nutty idea say it would cost a fortune to rebuild the run-down property, which once housed the likes of Al Capone and George 'Machine Gun' Kelly but has been shuttered since 1963. A former Alcatraz tour guide said there's no running water, no sanitation and no heat. Yes, but it's a prison, not a spa. A 'symbol of law and order,' in the words of Trump, who should know. After all, he's a convicted felon. Although I think Trump is onto something here, my one quibble is that he's not thinking grandly enough. California has a lot of underutilized resources, so let's open our minds to the possibilities. Less than an hour south of Alcatraz, in Santa Clara, an amusement park called Great America has been tanking for decades, and the property was just sold to a developer in what could be the beginning of the end for the once-thriving attraction. But hold everything. I have an idea. How about changing the name from Great America to Make America Great Again? Kids will love the RFK Jr. Fluoride-Free Water Slide. Step right up to the Gavin Newsom dunk tank, and climb aboard the high-speed ICE Train to Deportation Station. I also have an idea for the nearby Oakland Coliseum, which has been rudely abandoned by both the football Raiders and the baseball A's. I grew up in that stadium and can tell you that Raider fans, in particular, were not a timid lot. The word 'rabid' may be a stretch, but let's just say they expressed themselves with little or no inhibition, much like the crew that invaded and ransacked the U.S. Capitol after a joint session of Congress had the audacity to formalize the victory of Joe Biden That gang of patriots has been pardoned by President Trump, but I don't know if they've found work yet. So here's the pitch: What self-respecting, MAGA-hat-wearing Trump fanatic wouldn't pay good money to watch live performances by antler-wearing, U.S. flag-waving, pardoned revolutionaries at the rebranded January 6 Coliseum: Where Medieval Times Meets Modern Politics? They could go full gladiator to the cheers of the crowd. Give them ropes and muskets, dress them in skins and watch them scale a replica of the Capitol, smash windows, hunt cowering politicians and attack security forces like the heroes we know them to be. Some of these proposals could be difficult to execute, I'll admit, but not if another California landmark is put to better use: Let's turn Hearst Castle into the Western White House. The onetime lair of newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst is currently a Central Coast state park, but, if you recall, Trump wrote a little book called 'The Art of the Deal.' All he has to do is call Gov. Newsom and say hey, buddy, how badly would you like to have more wildfire relief funds for Altadena and Pacific Palisades? Trump sons Eric and Donald Jr. have been gallivanting around the world, pitching a billion-dollar hotel deal in Dubai, a residential tower in Saudi Arabia and a golf course and villa in Qatar, to which I say, 'Well done, boys.' But after so many years of public service, don't you deserve to live in a castle? Once they're ensconced in San Simeon's 115-room Casa Grande, the Trump brothers could make Dad proud by dismantling the state's pesky coastal commission, expanding offshore drilling and bringing a touch of the Atlantic City experience to the West Coast. Big Sur is OK, but I can't think of a single hotel there with either a casino or a prime rib buffet. Imagine a Mar-a-Lago Monterey in California's near future. And how about a 60-story Trump Tower Torrance, with a rooftop driving range and golden beach umbrellas. The Western White House could also run interference for SpaceX founder Elon Musk, whose attempts to shoot off more rockets at Vandenberg Space Force Base have been stymied by regulators at the aforementioned coastal commission. I say the more moonshots the better, and I'm talking about one-way trips. Load up those rockets with political enemies, lying news media, the bad hombres and lunatic judges. You can add biomedical researchers and climate scientists to the manifest too, because they're going to be out of work anyway. I'm just spitballing here, but I think the Queen Mary could easily be repurposed as a floating prison, to handle overflow from Alcatraz. L.A.'s Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels can be a Vatican satellite when Trump becomes pope. With his crypto wealth growing by billions in recent months, Trump could take over Arena in downtown Los Angeles and turn it into a personal piggy bank. And thanks to tariffs, there could be enough room in all of the empty cargo containers at the ports of L.A. and Long Beach to eliminate homelessness overnight. All that can stand in the way of making America great again is a lack of imagination, so feel free to send me your own ideas about how to make better use of existing resources. But first, let me share one more of mine. From the banks of Alcatraz, you can almost toss a frisbee to nearby Angel Island, which is also vastly underutilized. I've been there, and it's a perfectly lovely state park with stunning 360-degree views. But do you know what it used to be used for? In the first half of the last century, hundreds of thousands of immigrants were processed, interrogated and detained on the island. And the barracks are still there. What are we waiting for?
