[b][color=#0000ff]Redskins Owner Wants Six Flags[/color][/b] - 8/18 - Last week, the NY Post reported rumblings. And now the [url="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/17/AR2005081702065.html"]DC Post[/url] confirms that Redskins owner Daniel Snyder has launched a bid to take control of struggling theme park company Six Flags, and wants himself, local home builder Dwight Schar, and outgoing ESPN executive Mark Shapiro installed intop positions. Schar is a part owner of the Redskins and chairman of McLean-based NVR, a residential developer. Shapiro, a top suit at ESPN, announced that he is leaving the ABC-Disney sports network in October to become chief executive of Snyder's newly created Red Zone.....
Stock up 14% on the news

what this means to me
Dan Snyder likes to make and spend money
- higher ticket and parking prices but
- He will spend more in the parks
so lets see what happens

I think this ight be a good thing for SF but it could go either way. If he does purchase the company if he's smart he'll sell off all the parks but 6.

If he keeps them all he will fail just as SF has done.

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2009 Carolina Cobra Crew
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#6 North Carolina Tarheels 4-1

^ Yea I totally agree...I really think if he does take control, he should take the time to evaluate each park and see which ones are making money and which ones are slacking. He should definitely consider selling off as many as the slacking parks as possible so none of the parks get neglected like Six Flags is known for doing. Heck, I might not even be anti-Six Flags anymore if this guy can turn things around for the company. If he cleans up a few of the parks, such as SFMM, I might even consider trying to make a trip to one of the Six Flags parks around me. Who knows.

It's going to take alot to turn SF around. Hire qulity employees and clean up all the parks.

I don't expect things to get better for atleast 5 years after he takes control.

If he's smart he should sell the parks highlighted in red and keep the ones in blue

[COLOR=Blue]Six Flags Magic Mountain[/COLOR]
[COLOR=Blue]Six Flags America[/COLOR]
[COLOR=Blue]Six Flags Great Adventure[/COLOR]
[COLOR=Blue]Six Flags Great America[/COLOR]
[COLOR=Blue]Six Flags Over Texas[/COLOR]
[COLOR=Blue]Six Flags St. Louis[/COLOR]
[COLOR=Blue]Six Flags Over Georgia[/COLOR]
[COLOR=Blue]Six Flags New England[/COLOR]

[COLOR=Red]Six Flags AstroWorld[/COLOR]
[COLOR=Red]Six Flags Darien Lake[/COLOR]
[COLOR=Red]Six Flags Elitch Gardens[/COLOR]
[COLOR=Red]Six Flags Fiesta Texas[/COLOR]
[COLOR=Red]Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom[/COLOR]
[COLOR=Red]Six Flags Marine World[/COLOR]
[COLOR=Red]Six Flags Mexico[/COLOR]
[COLOR=Red]Six Flags New Orleans[/COLOR]
[COLOR=Red]Six Flags Over Mid-America[/COLOR]


Basically sell half the comapny, Keep 8 parks sell 9 parks.

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2009 Carolina Cobra Crew
Go Panthers! 4-6: Week 12 @ New York Jets

#6 North Carolina Tarheels 4-1

I'm so sick of this guy. He whines and whines about it repeatedly. Why doesn't he just worry about his Redskins. Six Flags is turning things around [u]without[/u] his help right now. He has a small percentage of their stock, that means nothing. He's does not hold a majority of the stock so he has little say in what's going on. He keeps saying he can do better, but by how??? He hasn't really said anything that he will do.

To put it in perspective how stupid his idea is, it would be like a new member joining up at TN and demanding to run it all of a sudden. Who is he that he demands that he take over SF? If he's not happy with the direction of the company, he can sell his stock. Simple as that.

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he just bought 2 million more shares last month at around $5 a pop not much for him
but the stock today 8-18 is up 18%

It wouldn't be like a new member joining TN and demanding to run it all of the sudden.

Six Flags is a publicly-owned company... TN is privately owned. If Snyder wants to shake things up, he and his partners would have to purchase enough stock to have controlling interest in Six Flags. Then, he can force the management changes. Basically it's called being a corporate raider, and such examples of corporate raiders are Kirk Kerkorkian and Carl Icahn (who got his hands on XO Communications, where I work, for instance, and is pushing for profitability).

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Everytime I ride a coaster, it valleys. I've never been on a stalled coaster or had one roll back (except Wicked Twister and what was Superman: Ultimate Escape, which does that by design).

If that idiot raises tickets and parking prices people will stop coming. They are too high the way it is!

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[QUOTE=Steven]It wouldn't be like a new member joining TN and demanding to run it all of the sudden.
[/QUOTE]

I didn't mean it completely literally but rather that he's in no position to do so just as a new member on here wouldn't be in position to take over TN.

He has some stock but like I was saying, he and any partners he has doesn't have a majority of their stock so he doesn't have ultimate say. I don't see why he cares so much. Yes he has their stock but it's no different than any other business. If he's not happy, just sell his shares and buy elsewhere.

I don't see why he's so interested in wanting to take control over a company I'm sure he has little knowledge in when compared to those running the company already. He should stick to what he knows rather than trying to take over a huge company like Six Flags. I honestly think he wants to take over now because SF is on the ride. I'm sure he'd like to take credit for it since many times it seems that they're just as interested in fame and glory and their own name as they are in money itself.

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[QUOTE=Carowinds 73-03]It's going to take alot to turn SF around. Hire qulity employees and clean up all the parks.

I don't expect things to get better for atleast 5 years after he takes control.

If he's smart he should sell the parks highlighted in red and keep the ones in blue

[COLOR=Blue]Six Flags Magic Mountain[/COLOR]
[COLOR=Blue]Six Flags America[/COLOR]
[COLOR=Blue]Six Flags Great Adventure[/COLOR]
[COLOR=Blue]Six Flags Great America[/COLOR]
[COLOR=Blue]Six Flags Over Texas[/COLOR]
[COLOR=Blue]Six Flags St. Louis[/COLOR]
[COLOR=Blue]Six Flags Over Georgia[/COLOR]
[COLOR=Blue]Six Flags New England[/COLOR]

[COLOR=Red]Six Flags AstroWorld[/COLOR]
[COLOR=Red]Six Flags Darien Lake[/COLOR]
[COLOR=Red]Six Flags Elitch Gardens[/COLOR]
[COLOR=Red]Six Flags Fiesta Texas[/COLOR]
[COLOR=Red]Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom[/COLOR]
[COLOR=Red]Six Flags Marine World[/COLOR]
[COLOR=Red]Six Flags Mexico[/COLOR]
[COLOR=Red]Six Flags New Orleans[/COLOR]
[COLOR=Red]Six Flags Over Mid-America[/COLOR]


Basically sell half the comapny, Keep 8 parks sell 9 parks.[/QUOTE]

I completly disagree with the parks you picked...At least a few of them. First of all, Six Flags Marine shouldn't be sold unless a company like Busch is willing to buy the animals as well. It just wouldn't be a smart move because if you've been checking up on your news, you would know that Six Flags Marine World has been having a great year. For the first time in 3 years they've actually raised in attendance. I think he would probably end up selling Six Flags America or St Louis instead.

Btw, Six Flags Over Mid-America is Six Flags St. Louis. ;)

And like Steven said, if Snyder or whatever is name is purchases more than 50% or more of the company he owns the company. If he purchases 50% he is half owner, see where I'm going with this? If someone wants to buy a company they have the right if they have the money...I mean, did people complain that it was unfair that Premier Parks purchased Six Flags? Premier Parks is the reason Six Flags is in the situation they are in today. If this guy ends up buying the company, I will be very happy...I'm sure he'll do a lot of good things to the franchise.

Well, if Snyder buys enough Six Flags stock, he can get Kingda Ka to play on his defensive line. :rolleyes:

[Size=4][color=orange]Kingda Ka Eats all Quarterbacks[/color][/size]

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If some of the smaller parks are sold, who do you think would buy them? Would it be separate smaller companies that are interested in running only one park, or would big companies like Paramount, Cdear Fair, or Busch gobble up a few of the parks?

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"His plans for the company include making new partnerships, a new marketing campaign, and selling some Six Flags properties."

Theres Six Flags saving grace right there. If Snyder can sell of some of the parks and clean up parks like SFMM, I think he could turn the chain around. I just the think the current owners need to go, regardless.

Who said it isn't fine to call Six Flags St. Louis by it's old school Six Flags Over Mid-America name? Both names are a lil shaky but that's that. Anyway older people usually talk old school like it's a memory or legacy.

I almost played the stock to make a quick buck but then I'd be handing a tiny dust speck of the company to that pirate. Too bad I don't follow his business outside of the Washington Redskins. I need to learn more bout him. If he runs his circus like the Redskins, I'll be watching from the outside for now.

I expected SF Astroworld to be possibly for sale if properties are shaved off. I'm happy as long as some obvious parks including the original Six Flags Over Texas is kept. Season Passes prices for Six Flags are really good compared to the competitors. I bet we would lose in that department later in pricing.

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2008 & 2009 TN Coaster Draft Champion
You knew I wanted the other repeat too

As a Redskins fan I would be glad to see him buy SF. He would be too busy with SF to meddle in the Redskins organization, making some of the stupidest decisions ever. (honestly, who else would have taken Jeff George over Brad Johnson as QB)

As a CP fan, I'm scared. With all his money who knows what he could do to SF.

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Daniel Snyder is the ultimate businessman. His sole purpose is to make money. Before he bought the Redskins, he owned a company that his father and hisself built into a multi-billion conglomerate. He sold his company for almost 3 billion dollars when he bought the Redskins. The Redskins are now the most profitable team in the NFL. The man will not purchase anything without knowing whether or not he'll make money. Rest assured, he will turn Six Flags into a money making machine without sacrificing quality. That's why Six Flag's stock shot up today.

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Six Flag's stock shot up today at the mere thought of a management change. I wouldn't through the word quality around. However, when I attend a Skins game at Fedex field there is no shortage of staff. I'm not going to say their quality staff but at least every concession stand is open and there is no shortage of people helping me to park my car. Marketing, yes, you will see more marketing. You will see someone standing at every major intersection in the park hawking a credit card to you in exchange for a free t-shirt. Don't be surprised if time share salesman suddenly pop up and Batwing becomes The Fedex Batwing or a wind screen stretches down the side of Superman. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to see some sort of Chain Wide Tail Gate and/or executive club pop up. Personally, I'm hoping for a free season pass to SFA to be included with purchase of my season tickets.

Hello everyone, why does everyone or most everyone think that because he can run a football team, he can run a huge chain of parks? I never knew they had so much in common :rolleyes:

Hey guess what, having a successful team in the NFL is as likely a McDonalds being successful if it was next to a high school. How many teams aren't making profit in the NFL. The answer is few if not none. The NFL is the most popular sports league in the US. Why should I be surprised much less impressed that he has a successful team?

I see no reason why he can bring that over to the amusement park industry. He should be content with the fact that SF is on the way up and that his stock shares will climb. He should enjoy his ride or get off. He should not be trying to take a risk just because he's an egomaniac.

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This might not be a bad thing. He's a smug, detestable little man, but his propency to throw money at problems until they go away will help Six Flags much more than it could possibly help the Redskins.

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[QUOTE=coasterlove]Hello everyone, why does everyone or most everyone think that because he can run a football team, he can run a huge chain of parks? I never knew they had so much in common :rolleyes:

Hey guess what, having a successful team in the NFL is as likely a McDonalds being successful if it was next to a high school. How many teams aren't making profit in the NFL. The answer is few if not none. The NFL is the most popular sports league in the US. Why should I be surprised much less impressed that he has a successful team?

I see no reason why he can bring that over to the amusement park industry. He should be content with the fact that SF is on the way up and that his stock shares will climb. He should enjoy his ride or get off. He should not be trying to take a risk just because he's an egomaniac.[/QUOTE]


Well in the resume department, he is running a football team--so he does have some business experience. Why are you so against Snyder, CoasterLove? What makes you think he can not run SF? What is your beef against this guy?

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"Those who forget, are destined to remember"

Eastcoaster:Snyder won't sell off SFA because of it's close proximity to Fed-Ex field.


I wouldn't be suprised if SFA's close proximity to Fed-Ex field is the entire reason for his involvement in the company.....he wants to see the park succeed as an increase in attendance at SFA might also mean an increase in attendance at Fed-Ex field as well & with the shape SFA is in right now they need all the improvement they can get.

About selling off some of the parks, I couldn't agree more. In recent years, Six Flags has become a joke. I mean seriously, it seems everyone's had a terrible SF experience. A ton of the parks are totally disregarded and go with out new rides for 6-7 years at a time. If SF could focus on maybe 7-8 parks, they could make them all up to the caliber of the SFMM of old or the SFGAdv of today. And imagine the immediate impact if 10 or so parks were sold on the other parks. SF would have so much money to invest into the remaining parks they wouldn't know what to do with it.

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Let's Go! HOKIES!

Like I said in my previous post, Dan Snyder was a successful businessman BEFORE he bought the Redskins. He has taken a mediocre team and made it the most profitable team in the NFL. Do you think that Six Flags' stock would have risen yesterday if he were some moron? I don't think he plans on buying Six Flags just to ride roller coasters for free. I bet he has a master plan and you will see nothing but good things to come. Just give it a little time and if I am wrong, I will take it like a man and let you guys beat up on me and tell me how wrong I was. That shows you how much confidance I have in the man.

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[QUOTE=VTD]This might not be a bad thing. He's a smug, detestable little man, but his propency to throw money at problems until they go away will help Six Flags much more than it could possibly help the Redskins.[/QUOTE]

...or it could just lead to bankruptcy. Spending a lot of money if you don't recoup it causes a negative. It's quite simple. You can throw money in the form of new rides at the smaller parks but they stilll won't have incredible attendance gains to make it worth it.

[QUOTE=vedder918792002]Well in the resume department, he is running a football team--so he does have some business experience.[/QUOTE]

I'm not impressed by that. I like football so I read about it from time to time. I'll give you a brief excerpt of a column from the Chicago Sun-Times regarding Cedric Benson holding out.

[I]"Eight losing seasons in the last decade, three head coaches, 15 starting quarterbacks, an offense that, ranings-wise, could not get worse..."[/I]

What's the point I'm making, you ask? It's that the Chicago Bears have been a disaster over the last decade but yet, yet they're still a very successful team financially. The same for many other teams as well. I don't find it much of proof that he can have success at running Six Flags. The Bears have done little right and had even worse luck but yet still make a huge profit and even got virtually a new stadium. This proves that having a successful profitable team doesn't neccessarily prove that someone is a good business person. I'm not saying that Snyder isn't but just making my case that having a successful NFL franchise doesn't mean much in my mind.

[QUOTE=vedder918792002]
Why are you so against Snyder, CoasterLove?
[/QUOTE]

He was at my last birthday party and got drunk and made an ass of himself....

I don't the guy but I'm not going to fall in love over him because he's one of 100+ owners in US sports and about 30 or so in the NFL (I don't know the exact number of teams that could be considered successful financially but I'd imagine most) to have financially successful team. Maybe he will do great if he gets the oppertunity...but maybe he won't. A football franchise isn't the same as an amusement park chain, is it?

[QUOTE=vedder918792002]
What makes you think he can not run SF?[/QUOTE]

What makes you and many others think that he can?

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[QUOTE=coasterlove]What makes you and many others think that he can?[/QUOTE]

Because he's a ruthlessly good business man. Understanding what it takes to win in the NFL (which he doesn't, because the Redskins still suck) has nothing to do with that.

The man knows how to make money, and we knew that before he bought the Redskunks. That, above all else, is what SF needs right now, money.

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Well coasterlove, I not saying he can...I'm just not discounting the possibility. Yous ay the NFL sells itself, correct? I disagree. You take the Cincy Bengals who have had a losing record since what, the 90's or so? THEY dont sell out just because they belong to the NFL. Yet you say the Redskins are doing pretty well? I'm not trying to be an arse and argue with you, just curious to your views. Until that post, your posts were basically. "Blah blah blah, he's not a good leader because he's in the NFL." .... The End.

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"Those who forget, are destined to remember"

Whoa, whoa, first off I never said that he wasn't possibly a good businessman. I said that by having a successful NFL franchise doesn't prove that he is. As for those Redskins, I never said they were great as a football team, I know they underperformed last year or the one before it considering what was expected of them. That wasn't my point. There are teams that don't do well that are successful financially like the Bears as I mentioned. The Bengals do suck and they might not sell out but I specifically mentioned that [u]not all[/u] teams are doing well financially but [u]most[/u] are. And the NFL is easily the most popular team sports league in the US. Yes, that does sell and help a team do well.

Last, I haven't insulted anyone here...other than perhaps Snyder so there's no reason to use "blah, blah, blah". I find it insulting when trying to have a civilized debate.

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Hmmm... playing devil's advocate on both sides isn't smart, but that's what I feel like doing on this issue.

On one hand the "new Six Flags Inc" could turn out to be a good thing.

What I fear is that it won't, that this will further hurt an already hurt company.

Seriously the guy owns an NFL team. What does he know about running an amusement park(s)?

I guess we'll just have to wait and see. This is the world we live in now. Gone are the days of company loyalty and such, it's all about corporate buy outs these days. I should know, I work for a bank. lol

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First off...Snyder would not be the sole owner unless he bought 100% of the stock.

Second off...we all pretty much agree that some of the properties would need to be sold. If Mr. Snyder is the businessman that he's supposed to be, he'll evaluate which properties are turning a profit, which ones aren't and which ones are on the fence. Then I would expect him to make decisions based on that. Not which parks are near his base of operations or which parks are sentimentally significant to him.

Third...Business is business. If he's truly interested in making the chain profitable, he'll put in his people, who would hopefully have some entertainment business experience, and he will be successful.

Don't get all in a huff about this. Just see how it all shakes out before you make any judgements.

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Thrillnetwork Editor

^I couldn't agree more. Well said.

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