Six Flags to sell Splashtown

Astroworld is gone, and now Six Flags is dumping Splashtown, though its fate is new ownership rather than the wrecking ball.

The company said the sale, which is expected to bring $312 million, is a part of its strategy to cut $2.2 billion of debt and enhance its operational and financial flexibility.

PARC 7F-Operations Corp. of Florida will buy the parks.

Richard Jett, vice president of the PARC Management, said his company is planning to continue operating SplashTown.

"There will be no visible changes this year," at the park that will just be called Splashtown, said Jett.

Under the terms of the deal, PARC plans to resell the properties to another company, CNL Income Properties, a real estate investment trust. PARC will then lease them back from CNL.

We knew this was coming, it just took awhile to complete. I've never been to Splashtown - I'm a Schlitterbahn man myself - so I've no emotional attachment like I and many other had to Astroworld. I'll be rooting for Splashtown to make it - if nothing else, two water parks are better than one - but I'm not so sure about their long term outlook. I still think the 'Bahn park in Galveston may be too much for Splashtown to compete with. We'll see.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on January 12, 2007 to Elsewhere in Houston