Shapiro Outlines Plans for Six Flags on First Park Tour

As new Six Flags Inc. chief executive Mark Shapiro toured the desolate Largo theme park for the first time yesterday, he pointed to a yellow booth called Articature Cartoons, where caricatures of guests are drawn and sold.

"This does nothing. What does this do for your per capita?" Shapiro asked.

"About 2 cents an hour," a park manager replied.

"Get this out of here," Shapiro said. "It's not a good value."

The hard-charging manager that Six Flags chairman and Washington Redskins owner Daniel M. Snyder picked to run the Six Flags parks came to Largo to lay out his plan for boosting revenue. He addressed about 100 employees inside the park's Crazy Horse Saloon.

Shapiro, who took the company's helm 36 days ago, energetically rallied employees, announced a plan to increase the number of seasonal employees by 400 to 2,000, and promised to add a daily parade and 30 costumed characters to the park.

But the two-hour staff meeting left unanswered the most pressing question: whether the Largo Six Flags will be sold when the company reviews a report assessing the value of its real estate holdings scheduled for release next month.

"This park has a great history," Shapiro said as he toured it. However, he added, "We have to look at it in terms of expenses."

Closures at the company's 30 parks will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, Shapiro said. The 115 acres beneath the Largo park are the most valuable in the company's portfolio; that land is worth $105 million, according to a 2005 assessment conducted by previous ownership.

Shapiro, a former ESPN programming executive who visited Walt Disney Co. theme parks six times last year, said he won't close any parks this season. His first mission is to draw more visitors, he said.

"We're not a theme park. We're an experience. It's only going to work if you're committed," he told employees, jabbing his pen in the air.

Shapiro painted himself as man in a hurry to implement change, as employees peppered him with questions.