GAcoaster Posted March 4, 2008 Report Share Posted March 4, 2008 Press Release from Tatweer and Six Flags: Tatweer, Six Flags to develop thrill theme parks in Arab World Six Flags Tatweer, a member of Dubai Holding, announced today a strategic alliance with US-based Six Flags Inc. (NYSE: SIX), the world's largest theme park company, to develop thrill-driven theme parks across the Arab world. The highlight of the strategic alliance will be the development of Six Flags DUBAILAND®, a five million square feet multi-billion dirham theme park within the world's largest tourism, leisure and entertainment destination. The first Six Flags project to be developed outside of North America, the theme park comes as part of Tatweer's tactical contribution to Dubai Strategic Plan 2015, which aims to develop the emirate into a leading global hub for tourism and leisure. Featuring its signature line-up of thrill and themed adventure rides and attractions, Six Flags DUBAILAND® will boast world renowned entertainment franchises such as the children's musical group Wiggles and professional skateboarder Tony Hawk. The park's unique components will complement Six Flags' award-winning productions and original programming, such as Operation Spygirl, the 'Big E' Entertainment Award recipient at the 2007 IAPAA Trade Show and Convention. Tatweer and Six Flags DUBAILAND® also will work together to integrate their expertise to create new concepts across the region, such as Six Flags theme parks, branded restaurants, hotels and retail outlets that will holistically offer unique travel and vacation opportunities for tourists, families and visitors worldwide. For the theme park project, Six Flags will conceptualize and oversee the master plan based on its history in that arena, which includes the development, ownership and management of 21 parks across North America. Groundbreaking is expected in 2009. Additionally, the Six Flags corporate alliance division will represent Dubailand for international corporate sponsorship opportunities. Saeed Al Muntafiq, Executive Chairman of Tatweer, said: "The addition of Six Flags, one of the world's most reputed leisure and entertainment companies, to our burgeoning portfolio complements DUBAILAND's® value proposition as an unrivalled tourism destination. It is a privilege for Tatweer to be selected by Six Flags as its regional partner and DUBAILAND as the destination to host the first Six Flags theme park outside of North America." Six Flags DUBAILAND® will join the elite repertoire of Tatweer-owned world class projects at DUBAILAND destination such as BAWADI®, The Tiger Woods Dubai, Universal Studios DUBAILAND®, DreamWorks Animation Park, Hit Entertainment and Global Village. Al Muntafiq added: "The new alliance with yet another global leisure and entertainment leader such as Six Flags consolidates Tatweer's commitment to becoming a leading global tourism, leisure and entertainment investor, and a key contributor to the tourism objectives of Dubai Strategic Plan 2015." Mark Shapiro, President and CEO of Six Flags, said: "This is a historic day for our company. Expanding Six Flags beyond our current North American borders validates the growing strength and momentum of our brand. Through this partnership with Tatweer, we now have the opportunity to create a world-class theme park destination that will allow guests from around the globe to experience Six Flags' unique combination of thrills and entertainment." The three billion sq feet DUBAILAND comprises projects that include DreamWorks Animation Park, Universal Studios DUBAILAND®, BAWADI®, Global Village, and projects that are under advanced stages of development including Dubai Sports City, Motor City, Falcon City, Dubai Heritage Vision, and Al Barari. The Polo and Equestrian Club and City of Arabia are currently in the initial stages of infrastructure work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted March 4, 2008 Report Share Posted March 4, 2008 Between this and the Busch news last week, some roller coaster enthusiast in Dubai is thinking he died and went to heaven! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAcoaster Posted March 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2008 It will be interesting to see if the money starts flowing into US investments from these groups as well. These investment groups in Dubai have more money than they know what to do with, and the US companies they are partnering with could use the capital. They could end up buying large interests in Six Flags if the stock doesn't improve soon, and get a real bargain. With the dollar being as low as it is right now, foreign investors could easily swoop in and make large purchases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAcoaster Posted March 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2008 Commentary from Motley Fool on why this is such a great idea and how it could help Six Flags here in the US: Six Flags Could Dust Itself Off in Dubai Rick Aristotle Munarriz March 5, 2008 Just when you thought that Dubai had brokered way too many deals to import stateside amusement park concepts into the United Arab Emirates, along comes Six Flags Dubailand. Dubai Holding's Tatweer is forming a strategic alliance with Six Flags (NYSE: SIX) to bring the chain's signature brand of scream-machine thrills to the Arab world, with the first park set to break ground in Dubai next year. The Dubailand project is starting to turn into a haven for theme-park lovers. Universal Studios and DreamWorks Animation (NYSE: DWA) have already inked deals for licensed parks in the Dubailand complex that will include theme parks, eco-tourism projects, shopping malls, restaurants, and residential units. Even Marvel (NYSE: MVL) has a licensed superhero park going up in Dubai. Just last week, Anheuser-Busch (NYSE: BUD) announced that it had licensed its four theme-park concepts -- Sea World, Busch Gardens, Discovery Cove, and the recently christened Aquatica waterpark -- as a stand-alone concept called Worlds of Discovery Dubai. Six reasons to wave six flags The Dubailand project promises to be breathtaking. It's not just the American properties that are getting an Arabian spin. The venture features things like an indoor snow dome and an enclosed park that features life-sized replicas of the seven wonders of the world. Six Flags will have company in targeting the tourism bucks, but there are several reasons to get excited about this park. Many of the parks will parallel their sister parks closer to home, but Six Flags Dubailand may prove to be even more ambitious. A debt-laden Six Flags won't have to appease its creditors in mapping out the Dubai project. It will simply collect royalties after it conceptualizes and oversees the attraction, leaving Tatweer to bankroll the actual construction. In other words, this will be the gray matter canvas that CEO Mark Shapiro and his associates always wanted. They're dreaming on someone else's dollar, so it won't be a matter of simply slapping a Tony Hawk theme on a spinning mouse coaster. The strategic alliance with Tatweer will also seek to expand the concept beyond Dubai, including branded restaurants, hotels, and retail outlets. In short, the park in Dubai may be what the rest of the Six Flags chain aspires to become. It's more than just found money. It's an incubator that pays for itself. If you build it, they will sum With $2 billion in debt, Six Flags rarely gets the chance to dream out loud. Rivals like Disney (NYSE: DIS) and Cedar Fair (NYSE: FUN) have spent the past few years opening or acquiring new parks, tacking on adjacent hotels when possible. But Six Flags has sold its smaller parks and mostly come up short on the hospitality tie-in. Six Flags opened Great Escape Lodge, complete with an indoor waterpark for resort guests two years ago, next to its amusement park in upstate New York. It could have been the start of something special. Lord knows that the company's popular Great Adventure is dying for an adjacent resort given the lack of nearby hotels. Magic Mountain in California is surrounded by hotels, but none of them company-owned. However, Great Escape Lodge proved to be the old regime's last hurrah. It was one of the few things that the old brass at Six Flags did right before Shapiro and Dan Snyder succeeded in shooing them out the door. The lodge pointed the company in the upscale family-friendly direction that Shapiro is championing, but it remains a stand-alone venture. Six Flags never became the next incarnation of Great Wolf Resorts (Nasdaq: WOLF). Disney is doing so well with its lodging business that it has been selling upscale Disney Vacation Club timeshares for years. Keeping guests at their destinations for days is important to Disney. Six Flags settles for entertaining the locals for hours. The line starts here Six Flags Dubailand is awesome, but it isn't a near-term solution. The royalty streams won't begin trickling in for several more years. The overseas brand-building will have a positive impact, especially as Six Flags continues to build out its entertainment division, but the company is going to have to master its cash flow demons between now and then just to get to that pot of gold. It's a long and bumpy rainbow until then. Let's hope that Six Flags is tall enough to ride. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsoxfan0810 Posted March 6, 2008 Report Share Posted March 6, 2008 Just as I was thinking, it will take a little while but in the long run this is sure to bring the company big bucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted March 15, 2008 Report Share Posted March 15, 2008 Six Flags Dubailand has its own page now of the Six Flags website, opening in December 2011! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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