Six Flags says no final decision on the closure of California's Great America has been made—yet
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.
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