Six Flags is struggling. Why the NFL’s Travis Kelce is making changes with investors

Embattled theme park operator Six Flags came under more pressure this week as Kansas City Chiefs football player Travis Kelce joined an activist investor group pushing 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 family and friends,” Kelce said in a statement. “I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to make Six Flags special for the next generation.”

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 fiancé and host of Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity? “Host. Co-hosts the podcast “New Heights” with his brother Jason.

Kelce joins the investment group at a time when Six Flags faces challenges and its chief executive, Richard Zimmerman, is set to step down this year.

Company officials had hoped that an $8 billion merger that would close in mid-2024, bringing together the owner of Six Flags Magic Mountain with amusement park chain Cedar Fair, owner of Knott’s Berry Farm and California’s Great America, would create a path to financial success.

The combined company is led by Cedar Fair executives, who are pursuing a strategy of trying to rein in massive debt, sell underperforming parks and try to grow attendance.

But a turnaround has been elusive. In August, Zimmerman said the company’s second-quarter results fell short of expectations, citing bad 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 about $55.6 million in the same period last year. Overall park attendance fell 9% from a year earlier to 14.2 million.

Six Flags said attendance has improved this summer. The company said visitor arrivals in the nine weeks to August 31 were 17.8 million, up 2% from the same period in 2024. But revenue fell 2% to $1.1 billion in the period, in part due to promotions to attract more people to the parks.

Questions have been raised about how many Six Flags theme parks may be closed and sold, and whether the theme park experience will suffer as Six Flags fires park presidents and cancels some seasonal events.

Now comes the recruitment of Kells, who is part of an investment consortium – including New York-based Jana Partners, consumer executive Glenn Murphy and technology executive Dave Habig – that owns about 9% of Six Flags.

“We appreciate the perspective of our shareholders and take their feedback seriously as we continue to advance our initiatives to grow visitor numbers, enhance the guest experience and drive profitable growth and shareholder value,” Six Flags said in a statement.

Six Flags, North America’s largest amusement park operator, is now at an inflection point.

The company said it faces stiff competition for guests’ leisure time. The company will invest more than $1 billion in new rides and attractions over the next two years, including a new roller coaster at Valencia’s Magic Mountain. It tries to position itself as a more affordable mid-range amusement park, much cheaper than going to a Disney or Universal park.

In an effort to slash costs, Six Flags has made a number of changes to its theme parks and moved to a regional management model. May, Six Flags laid off Jon Stobeck, president of Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, and Jeff Harris, president of Six Flags Magic Mountain. Barbara-Lea Granter, vice president and general manager of Santa Clara-based California-based Great America, also left the company in May.

The company announced plans to cut 10% of its workforce and approximately 135 full-time jobs at its California campus by the end of June.

California’s Great America has ended most live entertainment this year and canceled seasonal events, including the Midsummer Carnival, the Halloween-themed Tricks and Treats celebration and the Christmas-themed Winterfest. Tricks and Treats and Winterfest have moved to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo.

At an investor conference in May, Six Flags executives laid out to investors what they thought could be done to make the underperforming park better.

Six Flags Chief Commercial Officer Christian Dieckmann said at an investor conference that Magic Mountain is one of the areas for potential growth, where attendance has dropped 15% since 2012. Six Flags expects to double the number of visitors there through multimillion-dollar renovations and other upgrades to Hurricane Harbor Water Park at Magic Mountain.

Questions about Magic Mountain’s future have arisen before, including a public debate in 2007 over whether to sell it for property development.

At Six Flags’ investor conference, Chief Financial Officer Brian Witherow said the focus is on expanding the number of season ticket holders and increasing their access. Witherow said at top parks, season pass holders tend to spend $275 a year, while single-day visitors spend $85.

Land & Building Investment Management, another major investor, had previously urged Six Flags to monetize more of its properties, possibly through land sales.

“The pain of the merger and the historically severe weather have combined to create incredibly negative sentiment,” said shareholders opposed to the merger.

Prior to the merger, Cedar Fair sold land beneath Great America in California to a San Francisco real estate company in 2022, agreeing to a lease that expires in mid-2028 with an option to extend it to 2033. Whenever the lease ends, the park closes.

Six Flags also announced this year plans to close Six Flags America and Hurricane Harbor in Bowie, Maryland, after the last day of business of the year (November 2) and put the land up for sale.

Jana said in a statement that it plans to work with Six Flags’ board of directors and management team to improve the company’s marketing strategy and operations, accelerate technology modernization, evaluate its leadership and evaluate potential acquisitions.

Having a figure like Kelce will help raise awareness of the activist group’s efforts.

Six Flags’ board of directors is also undergoing changes. Six Flags Executive Chairman Selim Bassoul and lead independent director Daniel Hanrahan will resign from the Six Flags board at the end of the year.

As part of the agreement, Six Flags on Friday added Jonathan Brudnick, a partner at activist hedge fund Sachem Head Capital, to its board of directors.

“We invested in Six Flags because we strongly believe in the potential of the business and there are multiple avenues to address the company’s current undervaluation,” Brudnick said in a statement. “I look forward to working with my fellow directors to continue the important work being done to ensure Six Flags continues to build on its legacy as North America’s premier amusement park company.”

Jana Partners has been an active shareholder in other companies, including San Ramon, Calif.-based medical device company CooperCompanies, which Jana pushed to merge its contact lens unit with Bausch + Lomb, according to The Wall Street Journal, which first reported 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,” Jana managing partner Scott Ostfeld said in a statement.