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She says it would be amped up with more entertainment. “Or a scaled-down Downtown Disney type,” said Pope. And what about the critics who say another theme park won’t work? “The previous operations were always profitable,” said Pope. “I know urban legends says otherwise but you can look at Six Flags reports and see that they had profits of higher than 50 percent one year. I mean that’s a pretty good profit level for something that supposedly failed.”
On tuesday may 9, the board voted to turn the decision for the property development over to the mayor’s office. All offers were “rejected” as a formality to give decision making power to the mayor. The process continues.
Several local groups and communities plan to make the park a campaign issue, because the city of New Orleans desperately needs the entertainment area. New Orleans set a new record for visitor spending year after year. Visitation to the city continues to climb, with over 10 million visitors in 2016 who spent more than $7 billion.
The offer matches a recent appraisal of the overgrown property, which has been owned by the New Orleans Industrial Development Board since 2009. The board took title to the property from the city at the request of then-Mayor Ray Nagin’s administration.
But after a failed deal to develop an outlet mall on the property in 2013 — and underwhelming interest from developers — the board recently has pushed to offload the park. The Industrial Development Board’s primary focus is deciding on property tax breaks and other incentives for commercial and mixed-use projects.
Board President Alan Philipson said a verbal offer from Tonya Pope of proposed Jazzland developer TPC-NOLA Inc. was made Tuesday and will be considered at the board’s next meeting in January, as long as a written agreement is submitted.
Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s administration has given input on what to do with the park. But the city doesn’t have a vote on whether to sell, Philipson said.
What’s next for Six Flags park in New Orleans East?
The New Orleans Industrial Development Board will debate the next steps for the 150-acre piece of property with decaying roller coasters and wildlife.
“The authority to sell it would remain with us as owners of the property,” Philipson said. “We’re not out to disrupt anything with the city. We’re only going to do with it what’s right. We certainly wouldn’t accept an offer that was below the appraised value.”
In 2014, Pope and her team in 2014 pitched a multi-phase plan for an amusement park, a “Baritone Beach” water park, movie production facilities and retail. But the Industrial Development Board agreed that the project lacked enough financing to move forward with a lease deal.
“Without equity, we are not going to sign off on a deal here just hoping for something to come,” Philipson said this week.
On Wednesday, Pope said the plans are essentially the same, although the first phase of construction wouldn’t be the amusement park — it would instead be the beginning of a $120 million mixed-use development with retail, dining and other tenants. The development will unfold over several years as tenants sign on, she said.
The original idea was to have the amusement park restored in time for the city’s tricentennial celebration in two years, but now there’s not enough time. “So, we’re concentrating on those other elements we could have open for 2018,” Pope said.
Six Flags property gets $3M price appraisal
Neighbors complain of uncut grass and standing water as the site’s future is weighed.
Two roller coasters on site have been inspected and can be repaired and put back into use, she said. Other remaining rides will be removed and new equipment will be installed on the existing ride foundations.
Pope said it appears the board is ready to sell. “I know there’s been a lot of skepticism over the years that anything would ever be done with the property,” she said. “I believe they are sincere that they do want to sell the property, and they do want to move forward so it can be returned to commerce.”
The Six Flags park — which previously operated under the name Jazzland — was abandoned after Hurricane Katrina and eventually landed in the city’s ownership.
The Nagin administration asked the Industrial Development Board to take ownership of the property in 2009 with the agreement that the city would be responsible for maintaining the property, according to the board. The property was transferred officially, but Nagin never signed the agreement.
Despite pleas from the board, the Landrieu administration has refused to recognize the agreement and take over the property. The board has said grass-cutting, security patrols and handling calls from complaining neighbors have cost time and money.
The Landrieu administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the potential sale.
Philipson said at the board’s meeting Tuesday, city officials asked the board to end the current request-for-proposals for the property, but there was no support from the board for such a move.
The City of New Orleans finally got its long-awaited appraisal for the abandoned Six Flags New Orleans theme park site- and it is low. The 220-acre theme park site itself is only worth $3 million according to the McEvery Co.’s appraisal while an undeveloped adjacent 65-acre tract is only valued at $260,000. The rides on the theme park site are considered worthless. These values mirror the amounts in a bid to develop Jazzland on the site, which was devastated almost eleven years ago during Hurricane Katrina. The City ordered a new title search as well as an environmental phase one study before proceeding with deciding on the fate of the abandoned theme park site. The re-imagining of this property as Jazzland theme park is an Odyssey Parks & Resorts project and we proudly support Tonya Pope in her efforts.
Odyssey Parks and Resorts 
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