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Shapiro Outlines Plans for Six Flags on First Park Tour
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To a question about Snyder's involvement with Six Flags, he said the Redskins owner stepped back after he won the months-long proxy fight to take over Six Flags. "He called and said 'Come tomorrow; I'm not going to really be around that much. If you need me, call me'," Shapiro said.
A maintenance worker asked about promised raises at the park, but Shapiro told him the company's coffers were nearly dry.
"The company has $2.4 billion in debt," he said. "We all have to make sacrifices."
The company has renewed its relationship with Warner Bros. and will feature employees dressed as Batman, Superman, Scooby-Doo and other characters strolling the park. Smoking will be banned, and marketing programs will target families.
Dennis L. Speigel, president of consulting firm International Theme Park Services Inc., said Shapiro probably won't see a quick return with the kind of changes he is enacting. "Over the next several years, they should start getting the Six Flags train back on the track that it left 10 years ago," he said.
The Largo park has had its ups and downs. Last summer, a shooting occurred in its parking lot, and a woman had a fatal heart attack on a water ride. Also last year, a rebuilt water park boosted attendance a few percentage points after a three-year slide. A new security plan will add more plain-clothes detectives and work more closely with Prince George's County police, park managers said.
Shapiro's long-term strategy includes revamping the company's marketing program and developing sponsorships and partnerships with large companies, such as selling corporate branding for rides or allowing a video game company to buy the rights to its arcades.
Disney and Universal Studios theme parks have used similar strategies to offset operating costs much more effectively than Six Flags, said John Robinett, a senior vice president at Economics Research Associates who follows the amusement park industry.
