<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> Six Flags, Inc. announced Monday that it will permanently close its AstroWorld theme park in Houston at the end of the 2005 season. The company said 119 permanent jobs will be lost as a result of the closure, with a number of employees likely to be offered jobs at other Six Flags properties. The park also employs approximately 1,500 workers on a seasonal basis. The 2005 seasonal staff will not be affected. The 109-acre site will be marketed to the real estate development community. The company expects to make a tidy profit given the property?s size and location within a revitalized and dynamic area of the city and its proximity to so many of Houston?s civic, healthcare and business enterprises. Proceeds from the sale would be used for debt reduction and general corporate purposes, the company said. Factors contributing to the decision to sale included the park?s relative performance over the past several years and continued uncertainty over offsite parking rights related to Reliant Stadium and the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo, the company said. ?We are always looking for opportunities to enhance shareholder value. In assessing the performance of this property relative to the significant increase in real estate values in the Houston market, we concluded that the best way to unlock this value for shareholders was to pursue a sale of the property,? said Kieran Burke, chairman and CEO of Six Flags. ?While we continually review our properties in order to determine the best allocation of resources, it is important to note that a unique set of circumstances applies to the AstroWorld property and this action should not be considered indicative of our intentions for any of our other parks.? The AstroWorld site is located near Reliant Park, Houston?s major sports, entertainment and exhibition center, the museum district and the Texas Medical Center and is immediately adjacent to the city?s new light rail system?s Fannin South Station. Six Flags said it retains a significant presence in Houston with its Six Flags SplashTown water park, which is located on another site in the city and is expected to be enhanced with equipment from AstroWorld. Six Flags will also continue to serve the market with its parks in San Antonio and Arlington. ?We had a great run with AstroWorld and have been proud to serve as a family entertainment venue in the community for so many years,? said Burke. ?We are grateful to everyone who visited, worked and supported AstroWorld, and we look forward to serving Houstonians at Six Flags SplashTown and other nearby Six Flags parks. We are very encouraged by the prospect that the site has great potential for economic development and are hopeful this sale will ultimately result in significant job creation and economic activity for the city of Houston.? The sale is subject to the approval of Six Flags? bank lenders. www.KHOU.com</div> This sucks. I grew up going to that park every summer. From the kid rides to the thrill rides, I rode everything. I hate to see it go. It was right across from the Astrodome, and it was fun to gather your friends on a boring summer day and hit the park. Things will never be the same over there. 1st the Astros get a new home and now Astroworld is gonna leave. All we get there now is Houston Texans games and the Rodeo. Things are gonna be boring. I hope another Theme Park Company comes in and keeps that place going. So to all my guys from Houston. What do you guys think about this?
O M G nooooooo I lived for that park My gf of 3 years go there every anniversery b/c thats where our first date was memories lost....
yeh thats pretty sad...astroworld was a landmark of houston...i've been there my share of times, and while I've never been a big fan of theme parks in the first place, I always had fun there...I'm truly gonna miss it...it was and always will be a significant signature of Houston, TX...
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Trip:</div><div class="quote_post">Astros are reloacting? I thought they just had a new stadium?</div> Oh no, my fualt I worded it wrong. I was just talking about that area. The Astros are gonna stay forever!
Thats all crap, they are only leaving cuz they want to make a lot of money off selling the property. Has nothing to do with performance or anything, which really pisses me off.
I really hated hearing about this. Astroworld is Houston. I grew up going to this park all the time and loved it, and now they're just going to close a place where so many memories are just because they got a little greedy. BOO! Its a shame that such a well-known landmark won't be around after this year.
Can't say that I really care considering I can't remember the last time I went to Astroworld......Houston is weather is to hot to be walking around a big a$$ theme park and waiting in lines to ride some roller coasters....plus they overcharge for everything out there, but I do feel sorry for the kids who never got a chance to go...........I guess I'll have to hit up Fright Fest one more time before it shuts down.
