Six Flags names new CEO as stock price plunges

The Magic Mountain owner has suggested selling theme parks that underperform.

- WENDY LEE AND RONG-GONG LIN II

RIDERS enjoy the Goliath roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, shortly after the park reopened from COVID closure.

(Mel Melcon Los Angeles Times)

Struggling with a plummeting stock price and a decline in revenues, Six Flags Entertainment Corp. named a new CEO on Monday, weeks after company officials suggested they would sell more underperforming theme parks.

Six Flags announced John Reilly, a veteran theme park operator, as its new president and CEO. He had served as an interim CEO and chief operating officer at SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment in the past.

Reilly is taking the reins of the struggling Charlotte, N.C.-based company that operates Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park and Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia.

"He's got his work cut out for him," said Martin Lewison, associate professor of business management for Farmingdale State College in New York, who is also a Six Flags shareholder.

Since its merger with Cedar Fair Entertainment Company last year, Six Flags has upset some parkgoers with its cost-cutting efforts, including moving to a regional management model where park presidents at Knott's Berry Farm and Magic Mountain were laid off. At some parks, live entertainment was reduced or mostly canceled, and some seasonal events did not return this year, such as WinterFest and Tricks and Treats at California's Great America in Santa Clara.

Lewison said his own experience has been spotty at Six Flags parks, and two issues the company will need to address are how it wants to brand itself, and whether it wants its theme parks to be family-oriented or thrill-oriented.

"The company is just sort of a mishmash of a brand right now," Lewison said.

While the holidays can be a big driver of traffic to Southern California theme parks like Disneyland, Six Flags' regional parks have experienced some challenges, Lewison said.