Six Flags may consider closing parks across the US. Could OKC's Frontier City be affected?
The parent company of Six Flags Frontier City could consider closing some of its 42 theme parks across the US, according to recent news reports.
The news comes months after a major merger worth $8 billion joined Six Flags and Cedar Fair Entertainment Co. under the new label, Six Flags Entertainment Corporation. The merger initially did not affect Oklahoma City's parks, Frontier City and Hurricane Harbor.
On Wednesday, Six Flags Entertainment Corporation released its quarterly earnings report that roughly detailed a long-range plan called "Project Accelerate." The plan promised a "comprehensive review of the portfolio to evaluate the potential divestiture of non-core assets to help reduce leverage."
Would that review affect Hurricane Harbor or Frontier City? Here's what we know:
Would Six Flags close Frontier City or Hurricane Harbor?
It's unclear, but the closure or sale of Six Flags amusement parks "are now on the table," reports Theme Park Insider .
In the quarterly earnings report, Six Flags' parent company outlined plans for "additional cost savings across the portfolio" throughout 2025.
These would include integrating technology to harmonize merged systems, increasing operational efficiencies, but also maintaining "a disciplined approach" to activating capital investments to realize each park's full market potential, "while maximizing free cash flow efficiency."
At the same time, the report noted that Six Flags Entertainment Company delivered "solid results" in its first quarter as a combined company.
SFEC reported more than 21 million guests for the period ending Sept. 29, 2024, which was a 20% increase compared to combined attendance for legacy Cedar Fair and legacy Six Flags over the same five-week period last year before the merger.
And with an average guest in-park spending of $61.27, net revenues totaled $1.35 billion for the quarter across the company.
What has Six Flags said?
In the report, Six Flags President and CEO Richard Zimmerman said that the company is focusing on continuing Project Accelerate's efforts.
"Four months ago we launched Project Accelerate, a transformational initiative to harmonize our operations and unlock the full potential of the new Six Flags," Zimmerman said in the report. "We have only scratched the surface of what we can accomplish, and we are moving with a sense of urgency to optimize performance and execute our new long-term initiatives.
"I'm highly confident that focusing on our core strategic objectives will deliver superior and sustainable value creation over the next several years, enabling us to reach our new target of at least $800 million of annual unlevered pre-tax free cash flow by 2027."
According to The Independent, Cedar Fair and Six Flags' combined portfolio includes 27 amusement parks and 15 water parks across North America that attract 48 million visitors a year.
Representatives at Six Flags have been asked to comment.
