Volume 2, No. 5. March 8, 2002
Regarding
Larry
Out of Alfa SmartParks' long-rumored
sale of Jazzland Theme Park in New Orleans, Louisiana, last week came unexpected
but welcome news. Larry Cochran is back in the business.
Randal Drew, the president and CEO of Alfa SmartParks, Inc., a subsidiary of
Alfa Alfa Holdings, formed a new company called Entertainment Associates L.L.C.
with the express purpose of purchasing and operating the bankrupt suburban New
Orleans theme park. Drew serves as CEO and chairman of the new company which
also includes SmartParks' chief legal officer Gwen Hutcheson Griggs as senior
vice president, SmartParks' Chief Financial Officer Andrew Barkley as senior
vice president of finance and Nathan Goldman as executive vice president. Drew,
Griggs and Barkley will continue their roles with Alfa SmartParks.
Cochran, who spent 40 years with Six Flags, was brought out of retirement to
serve as Entertainment Associates' president, and he has set up office at the
park. "I played as much golf as I could play, and as much tennis," Cochran said
of the two years between his retirement as chairman of Six Flags, Inc. and his
new job. "When Randy offered this opportunity, I jumped at it because, number
one it's something we could do, and number two it gets me back in the business."
The Newton, Mississippi, native first got in the business while attending the
University of Texas in 1961, when he went to work in the graphics department
at Six Flags Over Texas. He worked his way up the park management ladder and
into corporate roles, earning the position of president and CEO in 1985. Two
years later he engineered a leveraged buyout of the chain, then comprising 12
theme and waterparks, and was appointed chairman of the company.
To hear Cochran discuss his new career is to hear his long-held enthusiasm bubbling
through his Southern drawl into inevitable action. Jazzland, which opened in
2000, is a challenging proposition, starting with its location over a swamp
that exponentially raises the cost of any capital improvement. The park also
developed a reputation for poor customer service in its first two years and
saw attendance drop by almost half from rookie to sophomore season. "Our biggest
goal right now is to get the park open and running as we know it should run,"
Cochran said of Jazzland's targeted April 13 opening day. "Everything I've stood
for the last 40 years I hope I can transfer to this park."
It's a challenge Cochran has grasped with relish. "I feel great. This has been
my life. I eat, sleep and breathe the theme park business. I bleed this business.
Buddy, you know how it is."
For complete coverage of the Jazzland sale, read the April issue of Amusement
Today.
