Six Flags, the billion-dollar company that owns Elitch Gardens, hasn’t posted an annual profit since 1998.
To boost business, the amusement-park company turned to sports and Hollywood executives for help, including Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder and movie producer Harvey Weinstein.
Their game plan?
Focus on attracting families instead of teenagers by bringing more kid-friendly characters into the park, such as those from Weinstein’s film “Hoodwinked.”
Increase revenue through corporate sponsorships, including selling naming rights to its rides, à la sports stadiums and bowl games.
Offer more food choices and increase vendors.
“It’s not an amusement park; it’s an experience,” new chief executive Mark Shapiro told about 100 employees during a meet-and- greet Wednesday at Elitch Gardens. Shapiro, a former programming star at ESPN, is on a whirlwind 30-day tour, visiting each of the company’s 30 parks.
Six Flags has company in its struggles. Attendance at theme parks across the country has been flat for a decade, growing just 0.4 percent in 2004, according to Pricewaterhouse Coopers LLP.
“We stopped seeing double- digit increases in revenue 15 years ago when the industry matured,” said Dennis L. Speigel, president of International Theme Park Services.
Six Flags’ image makeover began in December when Snyder, the company’s largest shareholder, took control.
He moved the company’s headquarters to New York from Oklahoma City. He quickly lured Weinstein onto the board of directors and appointed Shapiro CEO.
Shapiro, 35, is a wunderkind who quickly rose through the ranks at ESPN. He spearheaded ESPN’s heralded “SportsCentury” series, which counted down the 50 greatest athletes of the 20th century and won a Peabody award.
In 2002, at age 31, Shapiro was put in charge of all programming for ESPN. He created numerous original programs for the network, including the popular “Playmakers” series and the “Pardon The Interruption” daily talk show.
Shapiro said his new job is similar to his old one at ESPN, where he was responsible for attracting more women and casual sports fans as viewers. But now he is in charge of pushing the Six Flags brand toward families.
“It’s easier to fix a tarnished brand than it is to start one from scratch,” Shapiro told employees.
He says he believes Six Flags had wrongly focused on attracting the penny-pinching teenage thrill seeker instead of the family of four that would likely spend more money.
“Our parks averaged one character per park per day,” Shapiro said. “That’s just cutting expenses in the wrong places.”
The company is making several changes aimed at appealing to families:
Having at least 15 characters, such as Bugs Bunny, roam the parks every day.
Instituting a nonsmoking policy.
Placing full-time attendants in all rest rooms.
Employing five full-time costumed ambassadors at each park to answer questions.
In Denver, Elitch Gardens will have two parades daily when its season starts April 22. The park may also have live bands and festivals for special occasions.
The changes will add more seasonal employees to last season’s peak of 1,650.
Shapiro recently named Larry Litton the park’s new general manager, and Fred Christenson Six Flags’ regional vice president who oversees the company’s operations in seven cities, including Denver.
Snyder’s takeover and Shapiro’s appointment have attracted at least one high-profile investor: Mark Cuban, the eccentric owner of the Dallas Mavericks. Cuban said recently on television that he purchased Six Flags stock after the management changes.
“The parks are an amazing entertainment platform, and Mark has the right creative approach and Daniel the marketing ability to make this a huge success,” Cuban explained by e-mail.
But Snyder and Shapiro have yet to convince Wall Street.
Five of six Wall Street analysts rate Six Flags stock either neutral or underperform. Six Flags stock closed Wednesday at $11.17 a share, down 46 cents.
The Washington Post contributed to this report.
Staff writer Andy Vuong can be reached at avuong@denverpost.com or 303-820- 1209.
About Six Flags
The New York-based company operates 30 theme parks – 28 in the U.S., one in Mexico and one in Canada – that attract more than 30 million visitors annually.
“Mr. Six,” the bow-tied, tuxedo-clad dancing guy in the commercials, is likely to be deep-sixed.
Revenues dropped for four straight years, from total revenue of $1.08 billion in 2001 to total revenue of $1.04 billion in 2004; however, through the first three quarters of 2005, revenues were up 9.5 percent over the same period in 2004.
What’s in Colorado
Denver’s Six Flags Elitch Gardens sits on 67 acres; it is North America’s 49th-largest theme park. (Six Flags Darien Lake in New York is on 980 acres.)
Elitch’s includes more than 50 rides, including the Tower of Doom and the Sidewinder.
Sources: SEC filings, Six Flags Elitch Gardens
This article has been corrected in this online archive. The print version originally stated that Fred Christenson was the park’s new general manager. Instead he is Six Flags’ regional vice president who oversees the company’s operations in seven cities, including Denver.
