Six Flags California's Great America Prepares to Close After 50 Years
During a recent investors meeting for the company, the Six Flags CFO announced the park will close after the 2027 season, unless they extend their lease
The park is set to celebrate its 50th season in 2026Six Flags California's Great America may soon shut its gates permanently.'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 said about the Santa Clara, Calif., park. The comments were made while answering an audience question at the company's Six Flags Investor Day 2025 on May 20. The news followed the May 1 announcement that Six Flags America in Bowie, Md., is closing at the end of the 2025 season.'Those are two parks that are very low on the ranking of margins,' Witherow added.This means the over-100-acre park would close in October 2027 after the Halloween season. The park first opened in 1976 under the Marriott Corporation as Marriott's Great America.
In 2024, the park's parent company, Cedar Fair, merged with Six Flags in an $8 billion deal. Two years before, Cedar Fair had sold the 112 acres of land underneath the park for $310 million to Prologis, a real estate and supply chain logistics company. The amusement park company agreed to lease back the land for six to 11 years, announcing plans to close the park at the end of the lease. The initial lease agreement is set to end on June 30, 2028, with an option to extend the terms for another five years to 2033. However, the company has yet to announce a lease extension.'We chose Prologis as our partner because of their deep ties in the Bay Area and their reputation for working closely with local communities on large developments,' then Cedar Fair president and CEO Richard A. Zimmerman said via press release in June 2022.
Prologis is already making plans for the land: 'We're focused on identifying and partnering with planning and design experts to help us create a master plan for the property,' spokesperson Jennifer Nelson wrote in an email to the Los Angeles Times in January.
Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.California's Great America's counterpart in the Midwest, Six Flags Great America outside of Chicago, opened the same year as the West Coast park. However, only the Illinois park will receive enhancements and celebrate the park's 50th season.
Official closure details, including the final day of operation, is yet to be announced by Six Flags.
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