Obviously i'm editorializing the title here, but this is basically what is happening. When Richard Zimmerman announced he was stepping down, Matt Ouimet (former Cedar Fair CEO/former VP of Disneyland before that) took to Linkedin to say that he could not recommend any potential candidates take the Six Flags CEO job because their board was running the company into the ground.
From Screamscape: According to Ouimet, “Perhaps the weather will improve, and business results will turn positive, but I for one will remain discontented until additional leadership changes are made. My former colleagues (at least the ones still there) deserve an impressive leader and whether that is an internal or external candidate I can’t with good conscience endorse the role under the current board of directors' makeup. If the board doesn’t see the issue themselves, that is a problem."
Now I don't know if this has anything to do with this or if its just ironic timing, but Selim Bassoul has found a chairman role with another company
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/goodfood-chair-ceo-jonathan-ferrari-steps-down-six-flags-executive-chairman-selim-bassoul-to-lead-board-59dc6857?mod=markets
Which means soon both Zimmerman and Bassoul will be gone, meaning there will be a new chairman and a new CEO (unless the new board decides to convince Zimmerman to stay, which is probably unlikely but also not unprecendented).
I must admit the perpetual dumpsterfire-ness of this company is staggering to think about but fascinating to keep up with.
I feel like so many of the legacy SF parks have deferred maintenance and other small projects that have been needed (like bathroom renovations, pathway upgrades, and "sprucing-up" projects) for over a decade, but because the chain has insisted on selling passes at cut-rate prices, all of those long-deferred projects now represent tens of millions of dollars of needed capital investment. Many of the legacy CF parks don't have that same amount of "backlog", but I fear that Six Flags will start taking the same approach - "why spend money today on something that's not falling apart?"
This chain needs a leader that understands how to manage and maintain assets, and not simply how to create value to shareholders. If the company is able to generate some revenue from the sale of SFA and other capital raising initiatives (like the rumored sale of excess land), that money needs to be earmarked for addressing this backlog, not on new attractions or other new offerings. Only until the guest experience improves will SF be able to raise their ticket/pass prices.
Six Flags has been spiraling for a while under Bassoul — questionable decisions, declining guest experience, and constant cost-cutting. Ouimet calling out the board like that just confirms what a lot of fans and insiders have already been thinking. If this means a shake-up is coming, it might actually be good news for the parks in the long run.
@eggy car
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It is actually quite simple. Compare two parks: Six Flags Over Texas, the inaugural park, and Silver Dollar City, which is further away from a large population center. SDC is clean, everything is well maintained, the food is good, etc., etc. SFOT is dirty, the rides are run down, and the employees could not care less. The worst high school cafeteria has better food than Six Flags. All Six Flags executives should have to go to Silver Dollar City. Examine why that park is better in every way, and it really shouldn’t be, but it is. As it stands, Six Flags Over Texas needs millions in just basic maintenance. It has great attractions, but it is so poorly run it is sad.
SF will never be a Disneyland (although it was meant to be), but it originally had theming even into the early 90’s. SDC has the amount of theming and polish that SFOT used to have. It just seems to me that it is like a once nice apartment complex that has had multiple new ownership with the only intent is to sell it to someone else, and the lack of maintenance just keeps the value going down.