Six Flags: Amusement Park or Evil Empire?

[Franklinnoble]

Redskins owner buys into Six Flags
Joins Bill Gates as a major shareholder in the beleaguered theme park concern; both call for change.
August 31, 2004: 3:30 PM EDT
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The owner of the Washington Redskins football team has bought an 8.8 percent stake in Six Flags Inc., saying he wants change. Microsoft's Bill Gates also said he owns a big stake and may work with other investors to improve results at the theme park operator.

Shares of Six Flags Inc. (PKS: up $1.11 to $5.57, Research, Estimates), under pressure for weeks due to slipping attendance, rose more than 20 percent Tuesday. They have fallen by nearly half from their 52-week high in March of $8.80. They traded above $41 in May 1999.

Redskins owner Daniel Snyder said in a Monday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that he has bought 8.15 million Six Flags shares for about $34.5 million since Aug. 11 and may buy more.

He said he hopes to influence management to maximize the amusement park operator's value, perhaps through a merger or sale, and he may also seek a seat on the Oklahoma City-based company's board.

Gates, founder and chairman of Microsoft Corp (MSFT: Research, Estimates), said in a separate filing Tuesday that he had owned Six Flags shares for years and was dissatisfied with the company's recent performance.

Gates controls 11.5 percent of the stock and may discuss strategy with other investors, management and the board, he said. He also said he might work with other investors to nominate a director.

Snyder made his filing through a vehicle called Red Zone LLC. The "red zone" in American football is the area between the defense's 20-yard line and the goal line.

"Management has failed to implement measures to increase revenues and decrease expenses, and its failure to do so has caused the company to be continuously outperformed by its peers," the filing said.

Red Zone, the filing said, "may encourage the company to maximize stockholder value through a possible merger, sale of the company's assets, consolidation, business combination or a recapitalization or refinancing."

Snyder is not known as a shareholder activist.

The Wall Street Journal, citing unidentified people close to him, on Tuesday said Snyder believes he can help turn Six Flags around by revamping its marketing. They said this could involve putting logos, videos and product displays in parks, and issuing Six Flags coupons elsewhere.

Gates' Cascade Investment on Tuesday said it owned 10.8 million shares of Six Flags and may discuss with other investors the possibility of nominating a board member.

Six Flags was not immediately available for comment. The company is the world's largest regional theme park operator, with 31 parks in North America and Europe, including parks in 15 U.S. states.

Forbes magazine last September put the Redskins franchise's value at $952 million, top among the 32 National Football League teams. The team in 2003 posted a 5-11 won-lost record.

Attendance slows Many theme park operators have been hurt by declining travel after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Earlier this month, Six Flags posted a second-quarter loss of $12.8 million, or 13 cents per share. Revenue fell 1 percent from a year earlier to $356.4 million while attendance fell 4 percent. The company also forecast full-year revenue that fell short of analysts' forecasts.

On Aug. 20, Standard & Poor's cut Six Flags' credit rating to "B," its fifth-highest junk grade, with a negative outlook, affecting $2.48 billion of debt and preferred stock. Six Flags' market capitalization is about $415 million, based on Monday's closing price.

S&P said Six Flags, facing a lack of major new rides and a "weak" operating environment, will be forced to discount tickets and spend on marketing to generate more attendance.

[clintl]

Dan Snyder and Bill Gates? I think it's way beyond Evil Empire status.

[QuikSand]

Well, this might bode well for the SF location near me, which is only a few minles away from Washington, DC. It's a decent park in terms of rides and main attractions, but it's not very well kept -- I'm used to the meticulous efforts of Cedar Point (Ohio), Hershey Park (Pa), and the Busch Gardens parks, all of which make excellent efforts to remain clean and inviting.

[Cringer]

Originally Posted by QuikSand

Well, this might bode well for the SF location near me, which is only a few minles away from Washington, DC. It's a decent park in terms of rides and main attractions, but it's not very well kept -- I'm used to the meticulous efforts of Cedar Point (Ohio), Hershey Park (Pa), and the Busch Gardens parks, all of which make excellent efforts to remain clean and inviting.

Maybe Snyder can pull some strings and get Spurrier that locations General Manager job......

[Franklinnoble]

Originally Posted by QuikSand

Well, this might bode well for the SF location near me, which is only a few minles away from Washington, DC. It's a decent park in terms of rides and main attractions, but it's not very well kept -- I'm used to the meticulous efforts of Cedar Point (Ohio), Hershey Park (Pa), and the Busch Gardens parks, all of which make excellent efforts to remain clean and inviting.

There's a lot of competition in that area. Busch Gardens rules. Is that the park formerly known as King's Dominion? It used to be pretty decent when I was a kid...

There's Six Flags: Marine World not far from where I live in N. Cal, and it's not bad... although I don't think they do a very good job of exploiting the unique aspect of having a marine wildlife park blended with a rollercoaster park... it's like the killer whales and such have become an afterthought to the rides... and it's not very small-kid friendly.

I think with the tie-ins that Six Flags has with the Warner Brother's brand, they could do a much better job of marketing those assets.

[Raiders Army]

This topic is too full of potential comedic entertainment.

I can see it now:

Snyder buys out Donald Duck and Spider-Man

Daniel Snyder was looking to increase attendance at the Six Flags Theme Parks. He took a page out of the Redskins and bought out Donald Duck's contract from Disney. In a statement to the press, Donald Duck said, "Mr. Schnyder offered me top bucksh. I am bringing my 'fun and run' anticsh to the park. Not only has Daishy offered to leave, but Huey, Louie, and Dewey ash well." Snyder also convinced Spider-Man to leave Universal Theme Studios. "Hey, I'm sick of being labeled a loser. People say they feel sorry for me; I have news for them!" Spidey said in a statement Tuesday. Spider-Man has signed for $60 million and is the highest paid character in a park. Experts predict he will not do as well at Six Flags initially, but will perform exceptionally well in two to three years.

[QuikSand]

Originally Posted by Franklinnoble

There's a lot of competition in that area. Busch Gardens rules. Is that the park formerly known as King's Dominion? It used to be pretty decent when I was a kid...

King's Dominion is now owned by Paramount, and is still operating under that name. Busch Gardens is a separate park -- very nicely appointed, the one in Va has a European theme, with different areas connected to different European cultures. (Their long-standing attraction was/is the Loch Ness Monster -- which made an absolutely indelible impression on me back in about 1977).

[Brillig]

Hey, as long as they don't move the roller-coasters over to Windows...

[Franklinnoble]

Originally Posted by QuikSand

King's Dominion is now owned by Paramount, and is still operating under that name. Busch Gardens is a separate park -- very nicely appointed, the one in Va has a European theme, with different areas connected to different European cultures. (Their long-standing attraction was/is the Loch Ness Monster -- which made an absolutely indelible impression on me back in about 1977).

Yeah, I grew up in MD, and I think I've been to Busch Gardens about 100 times. The Loch Ness Monster was awesome.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by Cringer

Maybe Snyder can pull some strings and get Spurrier that locations General Manager job......

Pull some strings?! Shit, the guy's still under contract for 3 more years and $15M, ain't he? He should be cleaning the friggin' parks for free.

[QuikSand]

Good to see Cedar Fair (owners of Cedar Point amusement park in Ohio) take a little bump up today (up 1/2, about 1.6%), presumably on this news. Woo hoo!

[JeeberD]

Watch Snyder now buy the land in Arlington for Six Flags that the Cowboys are trying to get for their new stadium...

[SackAttack]

Dude, I used to work for Six Flags. With or without Dan Snyder, they were unquestionably Evil Empire (tm). The place friggin' SUCKS as a work environment, at least the one in Southern California does.

Great place to go for a day off, though, as long as you're not paying the in-park concession prices (or if you're an employee with a discount and free admission).

[Franklinnoble]

Originally Posted by JeeberD

Watch Snyder now buy the land in Arlington for Six Flags that the Cowboys are trying to get for their new stadium...

That'd be pretty sweet... and it would be poetic justice, too...

http://espn.go.com/page2/wash/s/toomay/020314.html

As the story goes, in 1958 Texas oilman Clint Murchison thought he was finally closing in on his dream of bringing pro football to Dallas. Two previous attempts to purchase teams had failed, but now word reached Murchison that Redskins owner George Preston Marshall was eager to sell his club because the team was doing poorly and Marshall needed money. Imagine! The 'Skins in Dallas! But that blasphemy was not to be. For just as the sale was about to be announced, Marshall demanded a change in terms. Murchison told him to go to hell and canceled the deal.

Coincidently, around this time, Marshall also had a falling out with Barnee Breeskin, the Redskin band director who had written the music to the Redskins fight song. Breeskin, smelling an opportunity for revenge in the strained negotiations, approached Murchison lawyer Tom Webb and asked if he'd like to buy the rights to "Hail to the Redskins." Webb agreed, paying $2,500. He figured this would at least be good for an occasional joke on Marshall.

Meanwhile, feeling abused by Marshall, Murchison decided that his best chance of owning a team was to start one himself. In that endeavor he got support from the chairman of the NFL expansion committee, George Halas. Halas agreed to put the proposition of a Dallas franchise before the NFL owners. Unanimous approval would be required for the proposition to pass.

As the meeting approached, every owner but one was in favor of the proposal. The holdout? George Preston Marshall. Marshall knew that he had strong fan loyalty in the South and was afraid of losing it to Dallas. So he told the other owners he would not vote for a Dallas franchise. Besides, he told them, Murchison was "obnoxious."

But then Marshall found out that Murchison owned the rights to his song. Oh, how Marshall loved that song. Although Breeskin had written the music, Marshall's wife had written the lyrics, so Marshall had made the song the centerpiece of his elaborate pregame and halftime shows. Back then, the Redskin band was a small army in buckskins and headdresses, snappy and well-drilled, featuring a chorus line of prancing Indian princesses. Many fans thought the band, the princesses and Marshall's halftime pageants were more entertaining than the team itself.

When word of Murchison's "dirty trick" leaked out, one Washington columnist wrote that "Taking 'Hail to the Redskins' away from George Marshall would be like denying 'Dixie' to the South, 'Anchors Aweigh' to the Navy, or 'Blue Suede Shoes' to Elvis." So a deal was struck. For Marshall's approval of the Dallas franchise, Murchison returned the song. Thus, Murchison's Cowboys were free to be born.

[JeeberD]

Wow, didn't realize that the bad blood between the 'Boys and 'Skins went back that far. Good find, Franky...

[Franklinnoble]

Originally Posted by JeeberD

Wow, didn't realize that the bad blood between the 'Boys and 'Skins went back that far. Good find, Franky...

I've known this story since I was a kid... just one of a billion reasons why Redskins fans grow up hating the Cowboys. The ESPN writeup was just the quickest summary I could find on Google.

It's a fascinating rivalry... in my opinion, the best in sports.