Astroworld will close forever at end of 2005 season

07:29 PM CDT on Monday, September 12, 2005

From 11 News Staff Reports

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Six Flags, Inc. announced Monday that it will permanently close its AstroWorld theme park in Houston at the end of the 2005 season.

The company said 119 permanent jobs will be lost as a result of the closure, with a number of employees likely to be offered jobs at other Six Flags properties. The park also employs approximately 1,500 workers on a seasonal basis. The 2005 seasonal staff will not be affected.

The 109-acre site will be marketed to the real estate development community.

The company expects to make a tidy profit given the property’s size and location within a revitalized and dynamic area of the city and its proximity to so many of Houston’s civic, healthcare and business enterprises.

Proceeds from the sale would be used for debt reduction and general corporate purposes, the company said.

Factors contributing to the decision to sale included the park’s relative performance over the past several years and continued uncertainty over offsite parking rights related to Reliant Stadium and the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo, the company said.

“We are always looking for opportunities to enhance shareholder value. In assessing the performance of this property relative to the significant increase in real estate values in the Houston market, we concluded that the best way to unlock this value for shareholders was to pursue a sale of the property,” said Kieran Burke, chairman and CEO of Six Flags. “While we continually review our properties in order to determine the best allocation of resources, it is important to note that a unique set of circumstances applies to the AstroWorld property and this action should not be considered indicative of our intentions for any of our other parks.”

The AstroWorld site is located near Reliant Park, Houston’s major sports, entertainment and exhibition center, the museum district and the Texas Medical Center and is immediately adjacent to the city’s new light rail system’s Fannin South Station.

Six Flags said it retains a significant presence in Houston with its Six Flags SplashTown water park, which is located on another site in the city and is expected to be enhanced with equipment from AstroWorld. Six Flags will also continue to serve the market with its parks in San Antonio and Arlington.

“We had a great run with AstroWorld and have been proud to serve as a family entertainment venue in the community for so many years,” said Burke. “We are grateful to everyone who visited, worked and supported AstroWorld, and we look forward to serving Houstonians at Six Flags SplashTown and other nearby Six Flags parks. We are very encouraged by the prospect that the site has great potential for economic development and are hopeful this sale will ultimately result in significant job creation and economic activity for the city of Houston.”

The sale is subject to the approval of Six Flags’ bank lenders.