Six Flags America, which opened for the year last month, will close for good at the end of the 2025 season on Nov. 2, its parent company announced.
Hurricane Harbor, its associated water park located on the same Bowie, Maryland, property, will not open until May 24 and will close on Sept. 7, per the Six Flags America website.
Six Flags Entertainment Corp. is looking to shut down the 500-acre set of parks with 70 full-time employees because it believes that selling the land for redevelopment is better for business than keeping the parks open.
“As part of our comprehensive review of our park portfolio, we have determined that Six Flags America and Hurricane Harbor are not a strategic fit with the company’s long-term growth plan. … We believe that marketing the property for redevelopment will generate the highest value and return on investment,” Six Flags Entertainment CEO Richard Zimmerman said in a release.
Season passes and tickets to the parks will be honored through Nov. 2, and the employees at the two parks will be provided severance and benefits if they’re eligible.
“We are grateful to our park associates who work hard to create lifelong memories for our guests, and Six Flags is committed to supporting all impacted associates through the closure process at the end of this year. … This final season will be an opportunity to celebrate the decades of fun that guests have enjoyed at the property,” Mr. Zimmerman added.
Events planned for the season include celebrations of Juneteenth, the Fourth of July and Halloween.
The wider Six Flags corporation once had ties to the District of Columbia metropolitan area beyond the parks in Bowie. From 2005 to 2010, former Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder was its chairman with shares he owned through his RedZone Capital, according to Defector.
The company declared bankruptcy in 2009 toward the end of Mr. Snyder’s tenure.
Prince George’s County Council member Wala Blegay, a Democrat, represents the area where the park is located. In a statement online, she said, “It is deeply disappointing to hear that Six Flags America, a long-standing fixture in our community, will be closing its doors. … The closure represents a significant loss, especially for our District 6 families who have built generational ties to the park.”
Other county officials are looking ahead for the Six Flags site and of Northwest Stadium, where the NFL’s Commanders play. The team and D.C. recently announced plans to move the team back to the site of its previous home, RFK Stadium.
“The stadium, itself, did not generate massive amounts of revenue to begin with. I believe whatever we replace it with will actually be a larger contributor to the county, financially. Same for Six Flags. We appreciated the amenity, but it’s now up to all of us to work together to put something that’s going to uplift Prince George’s, both at the Commanders site and, now, at Six Flags,” Prince George’s County Council Chair Edward Burroughs III told Washington’s WJLA-TV.
