The encyclopedia · Strategy & Leadership · Strategic decision · 1968–2005
AstroWorld drew crowds for 37 years — Six Flags sold it for the land
Six Flags closed Houston's AstroWorld on 30 October 2005 after 37 years, selling the site for $77M — it judged the land worth more than the park.
Six Flags AstroWorld · Six Flags · 2005-10
What happened
Six Flags AstroWorld opened in Houston on 1 June 1968 and for 37 years was the city's amusement park — Texas Cyclone, Greezed Lightnin' and the rest. By 2004 it ranked 39th in US attendance and eighth among Six Flags' own parks, and attendance had been declining.
On 12 September 2005 Six Flags announced the park would close and the land be sold. The stated reasons: dwindling attendance, the investment needed to modernise, uncertainty over off-site parking rights tied to Reliant Stadium and the rodeo, and rising Houston real estate values. Chairman and CEO Kieran Burke said the sale was 'the best way to unlock this value for shareholders.' The final day was 30 October 2005.
Six Flags had projected $150 million for the land; it sold in 2006 for $77 million. The planned mixed-use development collapsed in the recession, and the site became overflow parking for the Houston Rodeo — with the pedestrian viaduct the last remnant of the park.
Why it happened
- Attendance had been declining while the park 'never really left the 1980s' — modernising it cost money Six Flags refused to spend.
- Rising Houston real estate values made the land look worth more than the park on top of it.
- Parking disputes with Reliant Stadium and the rodeo clouded the park's economics.
The lesson
Six Flags judged a 37-year-old park worth less than the land under it — sold for $77M against a $150M hope, and the promised redevelopment never came; Houston got a parking lot.
Aftermath
CEO Kieran Burke lost his job soon after the sale; the site stayed mostly undeveloped for years, owned largely by the rodeo organisation.
Sources
- Ultimate Rollercoaster, 12 September 2005 — Six Flags To Shut Down AstroWorld Theme Park (announced 12 September 2005; park open through end of October; site sale proceeds for debt reduction; decision avoided the investment needed to upgrade facilities; declining attendance; uncertainty over offsite parking rights related to Reliant Stadium and the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo; CEO Kieran Burke: selling was 'the best way to unlock this value for shareholders')
- Theme Park Insider, March 2014 — Theme Park History: The demise of Six Flags AstroWorld (ranked 39th in US attendance in 2004, eighth-most attended Six Flags park; Six Flags projected land value at $150M but sold for $77M; closed for a real estate sale rather than selling to another operator; demolished within six months; planned mixed-use development fell through in the recession and the site became parking for the Houston Rodeo; CEO Kieran Burke lost his job shortly after the sale)
- Wikipedia — Six Flags AstroWorld (opened 1 June 1968; closed 30 October 2005; closure cited dwindling attendance, rising property value and conflicts over off-site parking at Reliant Stadium; land sold for $77M in 2006 to Angel/McIver Interests; Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo now owns 102 acres of the cleared site; pedestrian viaduct the last remnant)
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