Loop 030 printable

Volume 2, No. 8. April 26, 2002

Getting Jazzed
Though given only enough money to operate a couple of weeks, still ownerless Jazzland garnered enough cash flow during its first two weekends to continue running well into a full-time season. “We see us going all season,” said David Wright, the New Orleans, Louisiana, theme park’s director of marketing. “We’re very impressed with the numbers, and we’ve done better than we had budgeted. That’s the reality of it. Despite the roadblocks, we're exceeding our numbers at the beginning of the season, and people—even with the question marks—have continued to buy season passes over the first two weekends, which shows their faith as well.”

Part of Wright’s faith in the park is in his certainty that somebody will buy the property in the next few weeks. It is not lacking for suitors. The city, which has a stake in the parks, has been courting Six Flags, and Ripley Entertainment Inc. has expressed an interest. Yesterday WAC International of Heathrow, Florida, finally revealed itself as a suitor with an offer of $50 million invested over five years to include a new thrill ride and infrastructure upgrades this year and a new ride every year plus an amphitheater and waterpark. Representatives of the company admited, however, that WAC would have to raise money to accomplish its plan, according to a story in The Times-Picayune.

Jazzland is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, but Entertainment Associates, a company formed of previous owner Alpha SmartParks executives led by CEO Randy Drew, had submitted a purchase plan and took over active management of the park, putting former Six Flags vet Larry Cochran at the helm (THE LOOP, March 8, 2002). When Entertainment Associates was slow to raise the money to finalize the transaction, the city withdrew its endorsement of the deal and began publicly courting Six Flags, which remains mum on the negotiations. Entertainment Associates then withdrew its intent to buy, but keeps the right to resubmit a bid if the other potential buyers fall through. Cochran departed April 12.

All of this uncertainty handcuffed the park’s marketing efforts before the season opened April 13, but Wright said the campaign is ramping up. The Jazzland's saless partner, grocery chain Sav-A-Center, put season passes on sale at its locations yesterday, and television and radio spots are finally beginning to air. Meanwhile, the park has 700 seasonal employees on the payroll, about half of its projected summer peak.

“We’re running the park, the day-to-day operations,” Wright said. “All we care about right now is making sure we’re doing our job and leaving all the legal stuff to the tons of lawyers involved.”