Six Flags leaving OKC, parks for sale

[Patrick]

Guys, Six Flags is leaving Oklahoma City and selling our parks.



Six Flags to leave city, sell parks

By Paul Monies
The Oklahoman

The ride is over for Oklahoma City.
Six Flags Inc. said Friday it will close its corporate offices and sell local parks Frontier City and White Water Bay after the 2006 season.
The moves are part of a restructuring effort launched by new Chief Executive Officer Mark Shapiro, who took over in December.
Six Flags said the sale of the Oklahoma City parks will be handled by The Staubach Co.
“While it’s obviously our intention to derive the highest value possible for our shareholders in this action, we fully expect that we will do so by selling them as theme parks which continue to operate as such over the long haul,” Shapiro said in a statement.
Shapiro said Six Flags needed to be based in New York.
“A strong corporate identity in New York -- a major world entertainment, media and financial capital -- is a vital component of our agenda as we position Six Flags as one of America’s leading family entertainment destinations,” he said. The company employs 37 people at its corporate offices in Oklahoma City and an additional 40 who manage Frontier City and White Water Bay.

[Patrick]

I was afraid this would happen. Maybe the old execs from Premier Parks can get together and start all over again.

[metro]

Bad News, city leaders let this one slip by, it's like they didn't even try to fight for this one

[soonerguru]

This was only a matter of time. Poorly run company, IMO. It sucks to lose a company like that but the management in place here wasn't getting it done.

This is really nothing compared to losing, say, a Devon Energy or Kerr McGee.

Pretty small potatoes in the grand scheme of things. It would have been nice if the staff here was really top notch, but they really weren't. Premier Parks was just a big rollup operation; it was hardly a brand/amusement business.

It seemed like what normally happens when you have a bunch of corporate bean counters trying to run an entertainment company.

[Pete]

It's never good to lose an HQ operation but this one was very small.

However, I'm much more worried about the fate of Frontier City and White Water.

[Karried]

This is such a bummer... do you think someone will buy the parks and keep them open as amusement parks or will they close and we will have nothing?

[TheImmortal]

I would like to think that someone will come in and make it a real theme park or something productive will become of it. As it is right now, I see it as a glorified carnival. I worked there for two month and it was rediculous. Management can't communicate with each other, papers and files are unorganized, and the maintenence people take shortcuts on fixing problems. Honestly I would rather see it relocated to the Adventure District, I think it would boost attendance greatly as far as tourists go. As for the current location, they could build a nice retail establishment out there like the Spring Creek area in Edmond, or maybe some kind of sports complex. I dunno.

[Pete]

How about this scenario:

Frontier City and White Water are sold and used for other types of development.

Then, a big theme/water park buys some of their assets and builds on the Oklahoma River.

[TheImmortal]

I think that would be awsome as long as there would be heavy landscaping and some kind of parking situation could be worked out. The last thing we need is for huge expanses of asphalt gobbling up the beauty of the riverside, such as the situation with Lower "Bricktown" But I do think it would be an interesting option to consider. Also it would be neat if the park had a water taxi stop.

[BricktownGuy]

Its disappointing but it was expected to come soon.

I have to say management was bad that did not help out. IF only they had given it a bit more time.

I would expect some good things to come in the future as a result though.

[Jay]

I hate to say it but I think both parks will be sold off piece-by-piece and torn down.


Neither park has the potential to be purchased by another company.


Both parks are money pits. Each is in need of drastic upgrades and new attractions. A new owner will have to have deep pockets to make each park profitable again.


I predict Frontier City will become the location of a new truck stop/travel stop or a new housing development.


I predict White Water will become the site of new retail and industrial development. I am willing to bet a dollar that the Mathis brothers are already making an offer for the land. White Water's I-40 Frontage would make a great place for a new furniture warehouse or large furniture stores.


If they do not want it. I am sure there is a commercial truck or car dealership that would not mind locating on that site.

[dirtrider73068]

I have to agree with jay, frontier city needs alot of work to bring it up to a good park. I don't go any more for that reason cost too much to get in and half the stuff doesn't work, broke or its just a dirty place, and on top of it alot of kids and teens running around. Its just not fun to go there anymore, no new rides that are real good and fun have been built, frontier city needs some serious work, expansion and better rides, a cleaner park, and better cost of getting in the gate. Its sad to say but I am glad its going to be sold and maybe make room for something nicer since its right on the interstate. I truck stop would be good, give time for the truckers to stop and rest so they don't fall asleep behind the wheel and cause a wreck, there should be more truck stops on major interstates for that reason.

I hate to say it but I think both parks will be sold off piece-by-piece and torn down.


Neither park has the potential to be purchased by another company.


Both parks are money pits. Each is in need of drastic upgrades and new attractions. A new owner will have to have deep pockets to make each park profitable again.


I predict Frontier City will become the location of a new truck stop/travel stop or a new housing development.


I predict White Water will become the site of new retail and industrial development. I am willing to bet a dollar that the Mathis brothers are already making an offer for the land. White Water's I-40 Frontage would make a great place for a new furniture warehouse or large furniture stores.


If they do not want it. I am sure there is a commercial truck or car dealership that would not mind locating on that site.

[Patrick]

To be honest with you, I think amusement parks are becoming a thing of the past, other than for the Disney Theme Parks. I see the major Six Flags parks staying open, but I see Six Flags selling off most of their smaller parks.

I think Frontier City and WWB will remain parks, but they'll probably be bought by someone else. Remember, both parks weren't originalyl developed by Premier Parks or Six Flags. White Water Bay used to actually be owned by a chain of parks known as White Water. One still exists in Branson, although even its owned by Silver Dollar City now. But, both used to be part of the same company. Our White Water was run much better back then. Premier Parks and then Six Flags really let the parks go.

Those parks have been deteriorating for years. This won't necessarily be a bad thing for our city.

Even if the parks are used for other uses, I'd rather see that, then have them continue to deteriorate under the hands of Six Flags.

[venture]

Best option here is for city leaders from OKC to head up to Toledo/Sandusky, OH and visit Cedar Fair (owners of Cedar Point and other parks). They love the smaller, local parks and develop them. The best option would be for them to develop a new park near lower Bricktown along the river and shutter the two existing parks.

[Kerry]

Did anyone notice the phrase "They need to be based in New York". I am a daily reader of the Wall Street Journal and this phrase has appeared in many stories recently. The same thing was recently said about SBC when the purchase of AT&T was completed. It appears that the powers that be in NYC are trying to reverse a trend of companies leaving the NYC area over the last 20 years. It appeas that Shapiro has bought into that line.

However, there is no logical reason for Six Flags to locate in NYC. High taxes, high rent, high cost of living still exist in NYC. I give Six Flags 2 years before they declare Chapeter 11 bankruptcy and cease to exist.

[swake]

The high cost of living for 35 employees? Come on, for a business with revenue of over a billion dollars this is negligible.

[windowphobe]

Part of the Six Flags empire, such as it is, had relocated to New York years ago - mostly, the financial guys, who presumably needed to be closer to the bankers.

Given Six Flags' express desire to concentrate on major-market parks, it's not surprising that they'd want to be in a media hotbed.

[Kerry]

It's not the revenue - it's the net. The problem with Six Flags is that their net is 0. As for cost of living - it does have an impact because salaries have to be higher for employees to have the same stadard of living. Further more, NYC has a payroll tax and every dollar more in salary paid to a NYC employee is one more dollar the company has to pay in taxes.

Compaines can usually deduct expenses such as salary paid to employees as a business expense, however, with a payroll tax - companies have to pay taxes on the salary paid to employees. It is a way for some states to not let companies avoid paying taxes by shifting income to the employees.

In addition, because of the high cost of living, expenses such as food and entertainment will also be higher. Expenses for meals can only be deducted at 50%. 50% of more is still more.
So yes - a high cost of living for 35 employees will have a negitive impact on the financial performance of Six Flags. It is not the primary negative impact but it is a negative.

[Kerry]

Part of the Six Flags empire, such as it is, had relocated to New York years ago - mostly, the financial guys, who presumably needed to be closer to the bankers.

Given Six Flags' express desire to concentrate on major-market parks, it's not surprising that they'd want to be in a media hotbed.

You guys are missing the point and buying into the New York City talking points. The worst move for Six Flags is to move to NYC. You said it yourself. They already moved part of their operation there and somehow they got into more financial trouble. If they needed to be closer to the banking guys they should have gone to Charlotte. Don't buy into the big lie about NYC.

They are moving to NYC for one reason - Shapiro is from the area. The company is doomed.

[Patrick]

You're right Kerry. At a time when Six Flags is already short of the money, the last thing they need to do is move into fancy offices in New York.

[Patrick]

Six Flags says 'bye

By Paul Monies
The Oklahoman

The ride is over for Oklahoma City.
Developer: Frontier City, Whitewater Bay are likely to stay amusement parks
Six Flags to fix focus on families
Six Flags Inc. said Friday it will close its corporate offices and sell local parks Frontier City and White Water Bay after the 2006 season ends in October.
The moves are part of a restructuring effort launched by new Chief Executive Officer Mark Shapiro. He took over in December after a boardroom shakeup orchestrated by Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder.
“Nothing is happening until the end of the season,” Shapiro said in an interview with The Oklahoman at Frontier City. “It will be business as usual and fully operational.”
Six Flags employs 35 people at its corporate offices in Oklahoma City and another 40 who manage Frontier City and White Water Bay. The parks employ roughly 680 seasonal workers.
Shapiro said some corporate employees in Oklahoma City could transfer to New York or another corporate office in Grand Prairie, Texas. Others would be laid off.
“The top line is the media capital of the world is in New York City,” Shapiro said. “This was a very difficult decision. This is where it all started. This is our hub, and a lot of people worked a lot of years here and committed themselves to growing the company.”
For more than two decades, Six Flags and its forerunners, Premier Parks and Tierco Group Inc., operated dual headquarters in New York and Oklahoma City. Former Six Flags President Gary Story remained at the company’s Oklahoma City office until his retirement for health reasons in 2003.
As the company begins to intensify its marketing and sponsorship efforts under new management, Shapiro said it just made more sense to be in New York.
“It’s inefficient to run a business with three different roofs, especially when they’re thousands of miles apart from each other,” he said.
Roy Williams, president of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, said he is disappointed - but not surprised - by the decision.
“We don’t like for that to happen, but we sort of understand the circumstances,” he said. “It wasn’t pitting one city against another, it was just a natural migration of the business.”
Six Flags hired Dallas-based real estate company The Staubach Co. to market Frontier City and White Water Bay.
Shapiro dismissed speculation that the parks would be sold to unlock their real estate values. Frontier City sits on 109 acres along Interstate 35, while White Water Bay encompasses 30 acres along Interstate 40.
“The parks will be sold with the intent of them remaining in operation,” Shapiro said.
Industry analysts said it was unlikely a large park operator such as Ohio-based Cedar Fair LP would be interested in the Oklahoma City parks. Local or regional investors are the more likely buyers, said Dennis Speigel, president of International Theme Park Services in Cincinnati, Ohio.
“It’s going to be somebody looking to buy something at a reasonable price that has a nice cash flow with it,” Speigel said. “They’re small parks, but they’re not strategic parks within the Six Flags system.”
Speigel said he wouldn’t be surprised if Six Flags began putting some of its other, non-core parks up for sale in places such as Seattle or Denver.
Frontier City traces its roots back to 1958, when James C. Burge and several partners developed the park in northeast Oklahoma City. By the time real estate operator Tierco bought it in 1982, it had fallen into disrepair. Tierco poured money into the park, adding rides, shows and landscaping. After a reorganization in 1989, Tierco shed most of its real-estate holding to focus on theme parks. The company bought White Water Bay in 1990 and changed its corporate name to Premier Parks in 1994. Premier bought the Six Flags chain for $1.9 billion in 1998.

[Patrick]

Six Flags to fix focus on families

By Paul Monies
The Oklahoman

Theme-park chain Six Flags Inc. plans to renew its focus on families and customer service in the upcoming season, the company’s new chief executive officer said Friday.
Mark Shapiro, who took the helm last month, said Six Flags also will intensify its marketing and sponsorship efforts. There’ll even be room for advertising mascot Mr. Six, he said.
“There’s no reason these parks can’t be a high-end supermarket of entertainment,” Shapiro said in an interview with The Oklahoman. “A place where you can interact with Xbox and iPod, a place where you can count on top-flight brands and big-name products. I’d love to use our parks as a sampler for people.”
With annual attendance at the company’s 30 parks topping 35 million, Shapiro said they can be an important venue for advertisers, especially for the hard-to-reach teenage demographic.
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates holds an 11.5 percent stake in Six Flags through his Cascade Investment LLC. Shapiro said he’s planning to talk to Gates about possible sponsorship deals involving Microsoft’s Xbox 360 gaming system.
Most parkgoers spend up to 10 hours in a typical visit. But Shapiro dismissed suggestions that pushing too many products could turn the experience into one giant commercial.
“We’re not going to overcommercialize the parks,” he said. “At the same time, consumers will accept and embrace advertising that makes sense.”
Chicago-native Shapiro, 35, said he has fond memories of Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Ill. His favorite roller coaster is that park’s wooden monster, the American Eagle.
“As I walked around the park (Thursday), I was very reminiscent of the weekends I spent there with my parents and my friends,” he said. “That was the magic of the Six Flags brand. It wasn’t age-biased. I think we’ve gotten too far afield from going with your parents. We’ve become too focused on the friends and teenage groups.”
Six Flags also plans to enhance customer service. Seasonal and permanent employees up and down the corporate ladder will go through training for customer service and leadership. The company also banned smoking in parks except in designated areas. That means no more waiting in lines as someone puffs on a cigarette, Shapiro said.
“We want a clean, safe environment for our guests,” he said. “Whether you’re a smoker or not, it’s difficult to stand in line or walk around the park in a cloud of smoke. I want moms and dads to feel safe here. I want them not to have the ill-effects of second-hand smoke.”
Although it won’t happen overnight, Shapiro said he’d like each park to offer wireless payment transactions for food and concession sales. Internet cafes at the parks also are a possibility, he said.
The balance sheet remains burdened by more than $2 billion in debt, so he said Six Flags’ immediate focus will be “stretching the brand.”
“I would like to see our brand stretched to capture the families as much as the teenager and become as synonymous with family entertainment as ESPN is with sports,” said Shapiro, who rose to executive vice president of programming and production in his 12 years at ESPN.
And yes, there will be room for Mr. Six, although he might find himself with a little more free time. Love him or hate him, Shapiro said the wacky octogenarian mascot helped raise awareness for the Six Flags brand.

[Patrick]

Frontier City, Whitewater Bay are likely to stay amusement parks, developer says

By Richard Mize
The Oklahoman

Frontier City won’t become a ghost town and Whitewater Bay won’t dry up and blow away, said a developer who tried to negotiate deals with Six Flags Inc. for properties near the the amusement and water parks.
Dick Tanenbaum of Gardner-Tanenbaum Group said he learned that both parks were good money-makers during talks that went nowhere a few years ago.
Tanenbaum developed 800,000 square feet of industrial space in his North Gate Commerce Park across Interstate 35 from Frontier City, west of I-35 between Hefner Road and NE 122.
He said he tried to negotiate development of a hotel at Hefner and I-35 on part of the 109-acre Frontier City site.
Almost next door to Whitewater Bay at 3908 W Reno Ave., Tanenbaum developed Reno Circle Center, a retail-office property at 417 Hudiburg Circle between Meridian and Portland just off Reno.
Tanenbaum said he tried to negotiate access to a strip of land between his property and Whitewater Bay, which is on about 20 acres, but nothing came of that deal, either.
Friday, after Six Flags officially announced its anticipated departure from Oklahoma City and revealed plans to sell both Frontier City and Whitewater Bay, Tanenbaum said he was sure they would remain amusement parks.
“Both parks are very profitable - their people-count, gross revenues - they were very forthcoming,” he said. “I expect it will remain as entertainment. In Oklahoma City, it’s a great time to have an entertainment venue.”
Even if someone were to want to redevelop Frontier City, he said, the cost of dirt work and utility installation on the hilly, rocky land would make industrial use unlikely.
Otherwise, the location on I-35 near Interstate 44 and not far from Interstate 40 would be desirable for redevelopment because of the “good highway exposure and accessibility,” said Randy Lacey, an industrial specialist with Grubb & Ellis-Levy Beffort.
Rugged terrain under Frontier City would make it expensive to redevelop, Lacey said. The land under White Water Bay has another kind of challenge: “That property’s probably mostly sand because of the river bed,” he said, noting that the bedrock is 30 to 40 feet beneath the surface.
If Frontier City were to be closed down or moved, housing probably wouldn’t be in the area’s future, said David Webb, broker owner of Edmond’s Century 21 Mark V Real Estate.
In Edmond, developers and officials anticipate a boom in development several miles north on I-35 around the Wal-Mart Supercenter and shipping center on the west side of the interstate at Edmond’s 15th Street.
Webb said commercial development probably would occur on the Frontier City land if the amusement park were to be shuttered, although low-income or multifamily housing might be attracted to the spot, as well.

[soonerguru]

New York is the media empire of the planet -- and also home to Time Warner. Have you ever been there? It's not going to cost that much more to have 40 people at corporate, right?

Quit acting like OKC comes even close to New York. It doesn't. Your commentary sounds terribly ignorant.

[Jay]

Maybe its a good thing that there selling Frontier City and White Water.

The marketing plan they have assembled for Six Flags will make people want to vomit before riding there first stomach churning ride of the day.

I can see it now ride the Microsoft XBOX Rollercoaster equipped with American Airlines barf bags, when your done there go for a ride in the Bob Roberts Toyota Bumber Cars.

Instead of each area having its own theme Six Flags will be broke up in to areas according to advertising sponsor.