Six Flags New Orleans
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Six Flags New Orleans (formerly known as Jazzland) was an amusement park in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is currently leased to and operated by the Six Flags organization. The park is on land owned by the City of New Orleans. It has been closed since Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and Six Flags has announced it does not wish to reopen the heavily damaged property. Six Flags is currently in discussions with the City of New Orleans to terminate their lease on the site.
Six Flags New Orleans is located in Eastern New Orleans, in the Ninth Ward of the city off Interstate 510. This park was formerly known as "Jazzland" which opened in 2000 and operated by Alfa Smartparks before Six Flags took over the park lease from the City of New Orleans in 2002.
Rides included the Mega Zeph, a wooden roller coaster track built on a steel frame to prevent termite infestation. The Mega Zeph was inspired by the old Zephyr roller coaster at the closed Pontchartrain Beach Amusement Park that was located next to Lake Pontchartrain by the University of New Orleans. The original intent was to rebuild the Zephyr but it was a smaller roller coaster so that idea was scrapped in favor of the current larger Mega Zeph. Other rides include Batman the Ride, The Jester, Zydeco Scream, and Spillway Splashout, as well as many others. A water park was in the planning stages before Hurricane Katrina hit.
This area of Eastern New Orleans was badly flooded in 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina (see: Effect of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans). Due to damage, the park is closed indefinitely. Initial reports said that buildings are damaged about 70%, many flat rides are destroyed, and the Mega Zeph has been damaged beyond repair; later updates, however, stated that Mega Zeph could in fact be repaired. It was one of the least profitable parks in the Six Flags portfolio, being well away from the French Quarter and other tourist attractions. It has been stated that the park would most likely have been more profitable had it been built somewhere on the westbank or in Metarie, as these places are a shorter distance from the tourist districts.
The combination of economics and damage might argue against a reopening; however, in the months after the storm the company expressed an interest in rebuilding the park; although it would take a long time because of insurance issues. Work on the still closed park was seen underway in January, 2006. On March 15, 2006, Six Flags announced that the park will not open for the 2006 season and would not comment on the 2007 season. On July 1, 2006 it was announced that Six Flags Inc. does not wish to reopen the park, and is in negotiations with the City of New Orleans to make an early exit from the 75 year lease which Six Flags entered into on the property. However, Mayor Ray Nagin says he plans to hold Six Flags to the lease agreement. Under these terms, Six Flags would be required to rebuild, but only to the extent of the insurance money Six Flags receives. Six Flags determined the value of assets destroyed by the storm is $32.5 million. As of June 2006, Six Flags has collected $8.5 million of insurance proceeds bringing the insurance receivable balance to $24.0 million. [1] It remains unknown whether the amount of money the park receives will be enough to successfully rebuild it.
