Football star Travis Kelce has joined an investment group looking to rescue the troubled Six Flags amusement park company, which has been on an economic rollercoaster since the COVID pandemic.
Kelce joined forces with activist investor Jana Partners to buy a roughly 9 percent stake in the company, worth $200 million, with the intent to pressure the board, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The Six Flags portfolio includes Cedar Point, a park in Sandusky, Ohio, close to Kelce’s childhood home of Westlake, where Taylor Swift’s fiancé enjoyed the rides, which include a classic loop-de-loop coaster called Corkscrew, as a kid.
The Kansas City Chiefs tight end announced his investments on Instagram, saying, “couldn’t pass up the opportunity to continue the tradition and make Cedar Point and Six Flags even more special for the next generation of families!
“Excited to partner with JANA Partners as an investor in Six Flags. So crazy to even imagine this is real, but you gotta love it when life comes full circle.”
In the post, he included videos of himself as a child at Cedar Point. If Swift’s lyrics from her latest album, Life of A Showgirl, are to be taken at face value, she and Kelce are looking forward to having children of their own after they tie the knot.
This investment decision saw shares in the struggling theme park company surge by 18 percent, after prices had fallen by 50 percent due to fewer visitors and bad weather.
Jana Partners managing partner Scott Ostfeld has said the firm will push for more modern technology and, potentially, a sale to boost revenue for investors. He added in a speech at the 13D Monitor Active-Passive Investor Summit in New York that Kelce’s backing will improve visitor numbers and park visibility, per WSJ.
This is not Kelce’s first business venture. He has put money into a steakhouse in Kansas City, a beer company that he co-owns with his brother, and his own clothing brand, Tru Kolors, according to Vulture.
Although Jana may be pushing for more traditional forms of revenue building, Swift’s fans were, well, swift to Kelce’s comment section on Instagram, asking for Taylor-themed rides such as a Cruel Summer coaster or even an entire Taylor Swift park, akin to Dollywood.
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