Six Flags

This page considers the Six Flags themepark group.

Introduction

Six Flags, Inc. claims to be "the largest regional theme park company in the world", with 30 theme, water and zoological parks in North America as of 2005. As of 2004 its facilities featured over 1,150 rides (including some 150 roller coasters), reflected in its claim to be the leading US provider of 'thrill rides'.

It was founded in 1961 by Texas property and oil entrepreneur Angus Wynne II (1914-1979) before being acquired and subsequently disgorged by Time Warner. In recent years it has experienced financial difficulties, reflected in the closure of some parks and the sale of assets.

As of late 1995 Six Flags owned and operated six parks, with revenue of around US$41.5 million and some 200 full-time employees. Through aggressive expansion during that decade it grew to 38 parks (with 3,000 full-time employees) by the end of 2000. Revenue at that time was US$1 billion but the cost of servicing debt had soared to US$224 million from US$5.6 million in 1995, severely crimping the group's capacity to weather downturns in visitor numbers and to fund necessary investment in maintenance, marketing and development. That was reflected in investor disquiet and board disagreements, with critics arguing that much of the group's value lay in its land holdings rather than in ticket sales and merchandising.

History

The history of Six Flags has traced a similar trajectory to that of the Great America group profiled elsewhere on this site.

Six Flags Inc is a rebadging of Premier Parks, which originated as Oklahoma City-based real estate developer the Tierco Group. Tierco acquired Frontier City (on the outskirts of Oklahoma City) in the early 1980s. That park had been launched in 1958. By 1989 Tierco had divested its real estate holdings to focus on the amusement park industry and in 1994 changed its name to Premier Parks. In 1995 it acquired three properties from Funtime, going public during the following year. It acquired four parks in 1996 (taking its holdings to seven parks) and bought three more (including Kentucky Kingdom near Louisville and Marine World near San Francisco) in 1997.

Acquisition of Six Flags in 1998 gave Premier Parks eight theme parks and three 'water attractions'. Six Flags had expanded from Wybnne's initial park in Dallas to Six Flags Over Georgia (1967), Six Flags Over Mid-America (later Six Flags St Louis) (1971) before acquiring competitors such as the Great Adventure Park & Safari in New Jersey and Great America in Illinois. The corporate structure featured a separation of park ownership (centred on land) and park operation, similar to that used by many hotel chains. During the 1960s diversification giddiness the operating company (which encompassed six parks, two wax museums and electronic game amusement centers) was acquired by Penn Central, which in 1968 claimed to be the largest US transportation company, largest commercial real estate company and sixth largest US industrial corporation. In 1982 the operating company was acquired by slot machine group Bally Manufacturing (later Bally Entertainment). It was later sold to William Simon's Wesray Capital, famous for leveraged acquisition and sale of Gibson Greetings.

Time Warner acquired a stake in 1991, buying the remainder of the company in 1993 but offloading a 51% stake to Boston Ventures for US$1bn (debt and equity) in 1995 and exiting in 1998. Premier branded 24 of its facilities as 'Six Flags' parks and expanded offshore during 1998, acquiring 94% of Walibi Parks (six parks in Europe). In 1999 it acquired Splashtown Water Park in Houston and Reino Aventura, Mexico's largest theme park (later Six Flags Mexico) along with the White Water Atlanta park and Warner Bros. Movie World in Germany.

In 2000 Premier changed its name to Six Flags. It acquired Montreal's La Ronde amusement park in 2001, opening Warner Bros. Movie World in Spain in 2002. In 2004 however it sold Six Flags Worlds of Adventure to competitor Cedar Fair and unloaded its European operations for US$200 million.

Holdings

As of 2005 the group encompassed -

California

Six Flags Magic Mountain, Los Angeles
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor, Los Angeles
Six Flags Marine World, San Francisco
Six Flags Waterworld, Concord
Six Flags Waterworld, Sacramento

Colorado

Six Flags Elitch Gardens, Denver

Georgia

Six Flags Over Georgia, Atlanta
Six Flags White Water, Atlanta
American Adventures, Atlanta

Illinois

Six Flags Great America. Chicago
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor, Chicago

Kentucky

Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom, Louisville

Louisiana

Six Flags New Orleans

Maryland

Six Flags America, Baltimore/Washington, DC

Massachusetts

Six Flags New England, Springfield

Missouri

Six Flags St Louis

New Jersey

Six Flags Great Adventure, Jackson
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor, Jackson
Six Flags Wild Safari, Jackson

New York

Six Flags Darien Lake, Buffalo
The Great Escape & Splashwater Kingdom, Lake George

Ohio

Wyandot Lake, Columbus

Oklahoma

Frontier City, Oklahoma City
White Water Bay, Oklahoma City

Texas

Six Flags Over Texas, Arlington
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor, Arlington
Six Flags Fiesta Texas, San Antonio
Six Flags SplashTown, Houston

Washington

Wild Waves & Enchanted Village, Seattle

Canada

La Ronde, Montreal

Mexico

Six Flags Mexico, Mexico City

Studies

There are no major studies of Six Flags. Perspectives are offered in the studies of Disney and KECO highlighted elsewhere on this site, including Judith Adams' The American Amusement Park Industry: A History of Technology and Thrills (Boston: Twayne 1991), Harold Vogel's Entertainment Industry Economics (Cambridge: Cambridge Uni Press 1998) and Harrison Price's Walt's Revolution! By the Numbers (Orlando: Ripley Publishing 2004). For Penn Central see Stephen Salsbury's lucid No way to run a railroad: the untold story of the Penn Central Crisis (New York: McGraw-Hill 1982)

Landmarks

1961 Angus Wynne II's Great Southwest Corporation (GSC) launches Six Flags Over Texas park

1965 GSC acquired by Penn Central conglomerate

1968 launch of Six Flags over Georgia (Atlanta)

1968 Six Flags Over Georgia sold for US$23m

1969 some Six Flags facilities sold to to limited partnership headed by Jack Knox

1970 Penn Central acquires Movieland Wax Museum in Buena Park, California

1970 Penn Central collapses in largest US corporate bankruptcy

1971 opening of Six Flags Over Mid-America (St Louis)

1975 Six Flags buys Astroworld

1977 Six Flags buys Great Adventure and Wild Safari Animal Park (Jackson N.J)

1979 Six Flags buys Magic Mountain park

1982 Penn Central Sells Six Flags Corp. (park manager) to Bally Manufacturing Corporation for US$142m

1984 Six Flags buys Great America in Chicago

1987 Wesray Capital and Six Flags managers buys Six Flags Corp. (parks manager) in US$617m MBO

1990 Time Warner buys 19.5% of Six Flags Corp. for US$19.5m

1991 Time Warner buys further 30.5% of Six Flags Corp.

1991 Blackstone Group and Wertheim Schroder buy 50% of Six Flags Corp.

1993 Time Warner buys remaining 50% of Six Flags Corp for US$70m

1995 Time Warner sells 51% of Six Flags Corp. to Boston Ventures for US$1bn (debt and equity)

1996 IPO of Premier Parks

1997 Premier Parks acquires Kentucky Kingdom and Marine World San Francisco

1998 Premier Parks buys Six Flags Corp (park manager) and Six Flags Inc (facility and land owner) for US$1.9bn

2000 Premier Parks renames itself as Six Flags

2004 sells Six Flags Worlds of Adventure to Cedar Fair

2004 sells European operations for US$200 million

2006 closes facilities in parks in Oklahoma City, Columbus (Ohio) and Sacramento

2006 AstroWorld site sold for US$77m