Struggling theme park operator Six Flags came under more pressure this week, as Kansas City Chiefs football player Travis Kelce joined an activist investor group’s effort to push for the company to improve the customer experience at its parks.
“I am a lifelong Six Flags fan and grew up going to these parks with my family and friends,” Kelce said in a statement. “The chance to help make Six Flags special for the next generation is one I couldn’t pass up.”
Kelce grew up in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, about 70 miles from Cedar Point, which is operated by Six Flags. In addition to being a Super Bowl champion, Kelce is also known as Taylor Swift’s fiance, host of the show “Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity?” and co-host of podcast “New Heights” with his brother Jason.
Kelce’s joining of an investment group comes as Six Flags has faced challenges, with its CEO, Richard Zimmerman, set to step down this year.
Company officials had hoped that an $8-billion merger completed in mid-2024, combining the owner of Six Flags Magic Mountain with the amusement park chain Cedar Fair — owner of Knott’s Berry Farm and California’s Great America — would chart a path to financial success.
The combined company has been led by Cedar Fair’s executives, who pursued a strategy of trying to control the mountain of debt, selling off under-performing parks and trying to boost visitors.
But the turnaround has been elusive. In August, Zimmerman said that the company’s second-quarter results fell short of its expectations, citing poor weather and a challenging consumer environment.
Six Flags reported a net loss of $99.6 million in the second quarter, compared with a profit of approximately $55.6 million in the same quarter a year earlier. Overall park visitation dropped 9% to 14.2 million guests from a year earlier.
Six Flags said visitation improved this summer. For the nine-week period ended Aug. 31, there were 17.8 million guests, up 2% compared to the same period in 2024. But revenues for the same time period dropped 2% to $1.1 billion, partly a result of promotions designed to get more people in the parks, the company said.
Questions have been raised about how many more of Six Flags’ theme parks might be shuttered and sold off, and whether the theme park experience was being degraded as Six Flags laid off theme park presidents and canceled some seasonal events.
Now comes the recruitment of Kelce, who is part of an investment coalition — it includes New York-based Jana Partners, consumer executive Glenn Murphy and technology executive Dave Habiger — that owns about 9% of Six Flags.
In a statement, Six Flags said: “We appreciate the perspectives of shareholders and take their feedback seriously as we continue to advance our initiatives to increase attendance, enhance our guest experience and drive profitable growth and shareholder value.”
Six Flags, the largest amusement park operator in North America, is now at an inflection point.
The company says it has faced heavy competition for the leisure time of its guests. It is investing more than $1 billion in new rides and attractions in the next two years, including a new roller coaster at Magic Mountain in Valencia. It has tried to market itself as a more affordable, mid-tier amusement park that is far less expensive than a trip to Disney or Universal parks.
In its effort to dramatically cut costs, Six Flags has made a number of changes to its theme parks, and moved to a regional management model. In May, Six Flags laid off the president of Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, Jon Storbeck, and Six Flags Magic Mountain president Jeff Harris. Barbara-Lea Granter, the vice president and general manager of California’s Great America in Santa Clara, also exited the company in May.
The company announced plans to reduce staff by 10%, and eliminated about 135 full-time jobs across its California parks by the end of June.
California’s Great America ended most of its live entertainment performances this year and canceled its seasonal events, including its midsummer Carnivale, a Halloween-themed Tricks and Treats celebration and its Christmas-themed Winterfest. Tricks and Treats and Winterfest have been moved to the Six Flags Discovery Kingdom park in Vallejo.
In an investors’ meeting in May, Six Flags’ executives made a case to investors how they thought they can get underperforming parks to do better.
One area of potential growth was Magic Mountain, where attendance has declined by 15% since 2012, Six Flags’ chief commercial officer, Christian Dieckmann, said during the investors’ meeting. Six Flags predicts it can double the attendance there through a multimillion-dollar renovation of the Hurricane Harbor water park at Magic Mountain and other upgrades.
Questions about Magic Mountain’s future have popped up before, including an open debate whether to sell it off for real estate development in 2007.
During the Six Flags’ investors’ meeting, chief financial officer Brian Witherow said one focus has been to expand the number of season pass holders and increase their visits. At top parks, season pass holders tend to spend $275 per year, compared to $85 for a single-day visitor, Witherow said.
Another significant investor, Land & Buildings Investment Management, has previously urged Six Flags to monetize more of its real estate, potentially by selling off land.
“A combination of merger pains and historically poor weather have led to incredibly negative sentiment,” said the shareholder, which had opposed the merger.
Before the merger, Cedar Fair sold off the land underneath California’s Great America in 2022 to a San Francisco real estate company, and agreed to a lease that expires in the middle of 2028, with an option to extend it until 2033. The park is set to close whenever the lease ends.
Six Flags this year also announced plans to close Six Flags America and Hurricane Harbor in Bowie, Md., after its last operating day this year on Nov. 2, and the land will be put up for sale.
Jana said in a statement that it plans to engage with Six Flags’ board and management team to improve the company’s marketing strategy and operations, accelerate technology modernization, assess its leadership and evaluate potential acquisitions.
Having someone of Kelce’s stature will help raise more awareness of the activist group’s efforts.
Changes are also taking place at Six Flags’ board. Selim Bassoul, Six Flags’ executive chairman, and lead independent director Daniel Hanrahan will step down from Six Flags’ board at the end of the year.
Six Flags on Friday added Jonathan Brudnick, a partner at activist hedge fund Sachem Head Capital, to its board as part of an agreement.
“We invested in Six Flags because we strongly believe in the potential of the business and that numerous pathways exist to addressing the Company’s current undervaluation,” Brudnick said in a statement. “I look forward to working with my fellow directors to continue the important work underway to ensure Six Flags builds on its legacy as the premier amusement park company in North America.”
Jana Partners has been an activist shareholder in other companies, including San Ramon, Calif.-based medical device business CooperCompanies, where Jana has pushed for the company to combine its contact lens division with Bausch + Lomb, according to the Wall Street Journal, which was the first to report on Kelce’s involvement.
“We look forward to working with the Six Flags board and management to unlock shareholder value for the benefit of all stakeholders,” said Scott Ostfeld, Jana managing partner in a statement.
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