Closed for Storm (2020)

[bunniefuu]

♪

♪

(trumpet playing)

♪

♪ Oh, the sunny

♪ Bum, bum,
talking about that sunny ♪

♪ Da, da, do,
oh, what a sunny area ♪

♪ Of the sunny side
of the street ♪

♪ Well, Alexandria,
Louisiana, oh ♪

(scatting)

How y’all feeling, everybody?

Sunny side of the street.

♪

Walk me through the full history
of Jazzland Six Flags.

Sure.
Probably in the early ’ s,

Tom Winingder,
who is a longstanding developer

here in New Orleans,
his wife’s family,

the Colemans,
they’re very well-known

in real estate circles
in New Orleans.

Tom, the husband
of Dian Coleman Winingder,

had a vision that one day
he would like to have built

a theme park,

’cause we did not have
a theme park in New Orleans.

I could recall being out in
my front yard cutting the grass,

and some guys came through
the trees with masks on

and big machetes,
cutting down the trees,

and I asked them
what were they doing,

and they said
they were doing a survey,

and I was like,
"A survey for what?"

And they said,
"A survey for a theme park."

The park at the time
was gonna be Jazzland.

♪

The city of New Orleans
had long been without

any family entertainment.

Jazzland was dreamt up
to solve that.

A park designed to offer
an outstanding

family experience appealing
to both young and old alike

in an attractive, clean,
safe environment.

The park itself would celebrate
the heritage, the culture,

and the people of the city.

The location was perfect,

situated centrally
in New Orleans East,

just a short drive
from the city,

and placed just off the highway.

The land, too, was ideal,
with good drainage,

even during storms.

In fact,
the Army Corps of Engineers

found it to be
a dry piece of land.

By , the developers
had submitted the proposal

to the city,

and for over seven years
worked to get it built.

With promising
over one million visitors

in their first year,

along with over $ million
being added

to the local economies,

even the governor was on board
and offered the developers

$ million in state funds.

Jazzland Resort was planned
to be like nothing

the city had ever seen,

with a planned hotel,
a water park,

a campground,
and even a golf course.

It made sense, too.

This new resort would be located
at least miles

from any other major theme park.

The park would be named after
the city’s most iconic export,

jazz.

♪

(bell tolls)

I’m a resident
of New Orleans East.

You know, the neighbors
were overwhelmingly positive

and excited about the prospect

of something this vibrant

and exciting
and attractive to the region

would be right in our backyards.

He partnered with a company
in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina,

as he was going through
the development process.

Burroughs and Chapin.

And they had interest
in this company.

He also partnered
with Ogden Entertainment,

who also had an interest
in New Orleans.

Well, I went to work
for Broadmoor, ,

and that was to go
and do that job

at Jazzland.

You know, obviously
it was a virgin site,

some -something acres.

This was the first time
we ever built a theme park,

or a park that had rides on it
that people would

actually get on
and participate in.

So, that was unique.

The biggest challenge,
once we got on site,

was that the ground conditions

were so poor that equipment
that we brought on site

would break through
the crust at the top

and sink down
three to four to six feet,

in some locations.

We have one picture of a backhoe

that, you know, broke through

doing the early
clearing of the land,

and basically the only thing
you saw sticking out

-was the bucket.
-In ,

construction finally began.

Phase one of the project
for the theme park itself

was finished in just two years.

Jazzland officially opened

on May th, ,

at the cost
of over $ million.

The park’s original operator,
Ogden Entertainment,

ended up dropping out
of the project,

and a new company by the name
of Alfa Smartparks

had taken over.

Ready?
Five, four, three, two, one!

(cheering and applauding)

♪

Come on, everybody, sing it.

-♪ Oh, when the saints
-♪ Oh, when the saints

-♪ Go marching on in
-♪ Go marching in

-♪ Oh, when the saints
-♪ Go marching in

-♪ Oh, come on
-♪ I want to be in that number

♪ When the saints
go marching in ♪

(cheering and applauding)

Let’s go ahead
and get this ribbon cut

so people can start having fun,
get some pictures.

Countdown, five, four,
three, two, one, ready?

-Yeah.
-Five, four, three,

two, one, woo!

All right, ladies and gentlemen,
Jazzland is officially open!

Let’s have some fun!

(jets whooshing)

(cheering and applauding)

(roaring)

-♪ Oh, when the saints
-♪ Oh, when the saints

-♪ Go marching on in
-♪ Go marching in

-♪ Oh, when the saints
-♪ Saints go marching in

-Did you like it?
-I loved it.

Was it a good ride?
Tell me yes.

-It was terrific.
-Oh, it’s better than the beach

-ever was.
-It was better than sex.

♪ When the saints
go marching in ♪

(applauding)

(indistinct remarks)

Spend the day
at Jazzland theme park,

where the fun is at full blast!

I gotta do that again!

Jazzland in New Orleans
on I- at the I- exit

is filled with thrills
for the whole family.

-Serious rides.
- incredible rides

-and spectacular entertainment!
-This is great.

Come for the thrills,
stay for the fun at Jazzland,

open daily at : A.M.

♪ Get your fill of thrills
at Jazzland ♪

You know, my first memories was
I remember the excitement

of the park opening,

and how much people
were anticipating its opening.

You know, it was just
something so new

and different from
any other asset in New Orleans

that we’ve had--ever had,

since, um, probably
it was years prior to that,

Pontchartrain Beach
was an amusement park.

And then, there were kids
that didn’t have to travel

to Biloxi or to Houston,
or other areas,

and they could literally
be a member

and go as many times
as they’d like

with season passes
and things of that sort.

So, there was just
a lot of excitement about,

you know, how much
you wanted to partake of it.

You had that option,
and it was so convenient.

And, um, I think
that people were,

you know,
they were excited about it.

And you know,
it was not perfect,

but it was very, very much
a huge positive

for the entire community.

Whenever visitors
would come in and visit,

you know, we’d always
take ’em one day at least,

-you go to Jazzland.
-You know, I will tell you,

I live near the area,

so I had
a longstanding knowledge

of, well, this park,
probably going back

seven years before
it was even built.

I can remember
before I worked there

in that first season
before I became an employee,

I did have a season pass,
and it was very nice

to go there just for a few hours
on the evenings

as the sun was
beginning to descend,

you know, to catch a ride
or maybe get

a light meal out there.

It was a great escape from
the normal hustle and bustle

of the work that I was doing
in corporate advertising

at that time.

♪

(whirring)

♪

Um, I do not know if--

I don’t remember
if it was the first year.

My son and I went out there,
just the two of us,

before we started bringing
our groups of employees.

Um...

it was kind of
a love at first sight.

Jazzland was already
being publicized

as America’s newest
major theme park,

and in many respects, it was.

The park had several
themed sections,

all originating from
a central main street

made to look like
the famous French Quarter.

Circling around
a main lake in the middle

would be Cajun Country,
Mardi Gras,

Kids Carnival, and most popular

a land themed off
a vintage amusement park

in New Orleans,
Pontchartrain Beach.

These lands were comprised
of many different flat rides,

flume rides, a simulator,

two launch towers,
an eye-catching sky coaster,

and four roller coasters.

The main attraction, though,
was undoubtedly the Mega Zeph,

a wooden coaster
built on a steel frame,

one which was
inspired by the Zephyr

from New Orleans’s very own
Pontchartrain Beach.

Of course, the Mega Zeph
was the signature wooden coaster

that we had at the facility.

I believe, if memory serves,
it was feet tall

at the peak of the ride,
and it was just--

it was a great experience.

I think everybody reacted
very positively.

First of all,
they couldn’t believe

that we had
an amusement park out there.

I think families
were thrilled with it,

and, as I said,
the size of the park was great.

Kids could play,
you could walk around,

you--it wasn’t a big Disney

that you were worn out
at the end of the day.

It was, um--I think it was
very well-received

by the community,

and especially by families.

If a guest did not necessarily
go looking for the stories

in the newspaper
or on television or radio,

that the park was in bankruptcy,

they probably would not have
necessarily known that we were.

After the second year,

and really beginning
in the season,

Jazzland did indeed have
some financial troubles

and it declared bankruptcy

at the end of that season.

In the industry, they call
year two "sophomore slump,"

and I definitely feel
we had a hit in attendance.

Certainly it was felt.

Jazzland received
more than a million visitors

during its first season open.

By their second season, however,

attendance had dropped
over percent

to just , people.

This dip in attendance
had taken place

while all other
regional theme parks

seemed to have grown.

Subsequently, the park didn’t
have the attendance numbers

to offset their expenses

and pay off
the construction debt.

Jazzland claimed they had less
than just $ million in assets

and between $ million
to $ million in debt.

We promised folks
in year number two

that we were gonna build
this great new coaster.

Guess what happened?

We didn’t build it.

The first challenge was

centered around the fact
that the New Orleans park

was the largest park
in the system.

Alfa Smartparks
was a brand-new company.

The parent company
was in Athens, Greece.

They were a shipping company,

and everyone else, you know,
that was affiliated

in the company, again,
the other "kids" in the company

were either
family entertainment centers

or water parks, that was it.

So, we were required to produce

the largest share of revenue
for the company.

In year number two,
we did not produce

a large share, or certainly not
the share that was requested,

or required per our budget,

and things, of course,
began to unravel.

Alfa Smartparks
had been going through

their own
financial difficulties,

and had been looking
to put the Jazzland park

and their land lease
up for sale.

After only two years,
Alfa Smartparks

had abandoned
their brand-new theme park.

Larry was a former president
of Six Flags,

and Larry was
an "interim executive" with us,

and, you know, through Larry
we opened some doors

back into the Six Flags family,

and there was interest
in this park.

I think they saw that this park

was literally
only three years old

as a physical facility--
it was a brand-new park,

and it was in
great physical condition,

all the rides were new.

They had a great team in place,
and there was interest

by Six Flags.

We were excited.

The excitement started
before the park

was even really officially
going to be renamed

Six Flags New Orleans.

In the season,
containers started showing up

of roller coaster tracks,
so everyone had

the high expectations
that Six Flags

is seriously going to invest
money into this park,

and it’s gonna mean good things.

You know, it means that
we finally have an investor

that really is serious

and wants to invest in the park

and grow the park.

We rebranded, we remarketed.

We built an entire theme section
based around DC Comics.

We redid our kids’ section,

it was
a Looney Tunes-theme section.

Of course,
we opened that spring

in March of that year, ,

to great fanfare,
and we actually had

a really wonderful season.

As you can see, we have
a lot to look forward to

at Six Flags New Orleans.

Again, welcome to
Six Flags New Orleans.

The park is now open!

(cheering)

♪

Six Flags invites you
to experience

our newest
world-class theme park:

Six Flags New Orleans,

where new attractions include

incredible coasters,

Batman the Ride,

and The Jester.

♪

♪ Let’s begin ♪

♪

In August of , Six Flags
had officially completed

their acquisition of Jazzland,

rebranding it into
Six Flags New Orleans

for the season.

The company had committed,

spending over $ million
on their new park,

and resolving the standing debt
from the last owner.

In addition
to minor improvements,

like shade structures,

Six Flags had spent
serious money

on theming the individual lands,

adding new attractions,
including two new coasters,

and bringing in intellectual
property characters.

My family,
we had great experiences there.

I mean, I remember
the roller coasters,

and they had
a lot of good shows there.

The park integrated
the community with it,

high schools
or elementary schools,

and people were doing
different types of things,

that Grandma had to go
see grandson perform

or what have you,
at Jazzland, or at Six Flags.

My daughters
were in a dance team

that performed at the park,

and then I think the last thing
is jobs that it created.

A lot of kids had jobs there.

You know, they would
work there for the summer,

or work there
for a certain duration

where, you know,
they could be part of it,

and kids who worked there
were big shots, you know.

Oh, I loved it.

That was my favorite job
I’ve ever had.

I felt like I could connect
with everybody who’s coming on.

I had something to say,
I could make

some sort of comment
about their day,

or ask them a question.

We did have a, um,

a little Six Flags chant
that we did in the mornings

as operations people that--
to get people pumped up,

um, which I may still know.

(chuckling)

I would say I was there
almost every other week,

I mean, as often I could.

We all crammed in
to the very tiny arcade,

because I think
they had a dance game

out there at the time,

and everybody
wanted to get in there.

The main arcade was
more like a penny arcade.

Throw bottles, win prizes,

win stuffed animals.

So, one time, everybody had
to get these big gorillas,

so they all played.

We must’ve--
instead of riding the rides,

we were playing the crazy games
to win these big snakes

and big gorillas,
big, colorful gorillas.

I posted a picture
not too long ago

of some of the kids
with the gorillas on Facebook,

and they all went crazy.
"I remember that,

I remember that,
that was one of the best--

Oh, man,
then we had so much fun."

They loved it,
they just had so much fun.

I hope that one day I can be
an old man and retire,

and work at a theme park,
and be exactly like

Mr. Six, like,
running the roller coasters.

That is really
my ultimate dream.

You’d go, and I mean,
there would be so many people

on--during certain events
and certain weekends.

I mean, I’m told
upwards of , people,

which, for a park that size,
is pretty impressive.

People who knew the park
absolutely loved it.

I mean, if you had
the experience of going,

you know, especially
if you went from the beginning,

people liked that park.

There was one time that

I was working
at the Skycoaster,

and there was a paraplegic woman

who wanted to ride
in a wheelchair,

and, um,

the decision was left to me

on if this person
should ride or not.

And I’m like, "Okay,
I’m making the decision,

she’s riding."

And it took a really long time
to get her situated

and ready to ride,

and by this time,
there is a really large line

just snaking through
the whole attraction,

and everyone is seeing
what’s going on.

And so, we hoist her up.

We, uh, raise her up to the top,

and she pulls her ripcord.

The ride’s successful
and everyone’s applauding

and cheering.

And it made me so happy that--

um, that I could

give that to somebody.

That I could give somebody

that excitement and fun

that was probably unexpected

to her when she started her day.

We’re not here
to save the world,

but we are here
to help people get through

what might be
a difficult time in their lives,

or a mundane lifestyle.

We are that respite for them

where they can go and get
an escape for a few hours,

take their minds
off of their burdens,

take their minds
off their problems,

and have a good time
for a few hours.

The water ride
was always the last one,

and they had to go dry off
before they could get in my car,

’cause I wouldn't let ’em
ride home with me

-unless they were dry.
-It was actually announced

that summer that
at the end of the season

that we were going to build
the much-requested

and certainly
the much-desired water park.

The plans were drawn.

We knew where it was going.

We knew that
during the break in ,

we were going to be
constructing the water park.

I remember on my way
out of the park,

like, my very last time
I was ever there,

and, um, I made a joke.

Said that, "I’ll be back soon,

unless the hurricane comes
and destroys everything."

(exaggerated chuckle)

(ominous musical tone)

This morning I spoke with
FEMA Undersecretary Mike Brown

and emergency management teams
not only at the federal level

but at the state level

about the, uh,
Hurricane Katrina.

We will do
everything in our power

to help the people
and the communities

affected by this storm.

Hurricane Katrina
is now designated

a Category hurricane.

I think we all kinda had
this notion that

this hurricane that was
brewing in the Gulf

was, um--was not
gonna be that bad,

or it might skirt past us.

You know,
it was business as usual

for the week
leading up to the park.

You look at it on the news
and it’s coming.

They say, "Oh,
well, it’s going to Florida."

And they said, "Well, it’s
really going to the Panhandle."

"Oh no,
now it’s going to Alabama."

"Now it’s going to Mississippi."

And then, all of a sudden,
overnight,

I think it was
that Sunday morning,

the path had
significantly shifted,

and the storm was a Category ,

and it was a feeling of, like,

pure terror, like,
"Oh, my gosh, we gotta go now."

No, none of us
had any idea then,

not just the park,
but, you know, the entire city

of New Orleans,
and the entire Gulf Coast

of, you know, New Orleans,
Louisiana, Mississippi,

Alabama, to a certain extent,

would’ve ever have experienced
what we ultimately experienced.

When I left on that Friday,
that was the very last time

that I came back
to an operating park.

♪

(waves crashing)

♪

(wind roaring)

(water rushing)

(helicopter blades whirring)

The vast majority
of New Orleans, Louisiana,

is under water.

(whirring)

Tens of thousands
of homes and businesses

are beyond repair.

♪

A lot of
the Mississippi Gulf Coast

has been completely destroyed.

We are dealing with one
of the worst natural disasters

in our nation’s history.

♪

On August th, ,

Hurricane Katrina
hit New Orleans

as a Category storm,

sparking the unimaginable.

♪

At around : A.M.,
the wall system

built to keep
surging storm water out,

called levees, broke,

causing rising water
from the lake and the canals

to flood around
percent of the city.

New Orleans
was beyond devastated.

♪

It was--I mean, it was a lot,
’cause I was not only seeing

images of the park flooding,

but the neighborhood
that I live in,

and, um, the--everywhere,

like, my entire life
being flooded.

You know, I, uh--I evacuated

to some family--family property

in, uh,
kinda more central Louisiana,

and I was really surprised
at how bad, you know,

after, you know,
the initial storm had passed,

and then, of course,
there was the levee breach

was the--really the nail
in the coffin for New Orleans.

I was really surprised
at how bad things had gotten.

I knew that we had been dealt
a really bad hit,

and you know,
certainly looking at

what was on local networks,
national networks,

radio stations, and so forth,

and I think the more
that I was watching that,

you know, the more disheartened,
the more depressed

I was getting.

My home, for example,
had six feet of water

inside the house, and when
you have six feet of water

that was the soupiest,
murkiest water possible,

with every chemical
you could imagine in it,

sitting in a home for,
you know, four to six weeks,

what it did is it
devastated the homes,

because you had wind damage,

and then you had flood damage,

and as a result of that,
the mold was tremendous,

because after
the storm went past,

the heat was very high,
so you have all of these homes

that now are--no ventilation,
they’re all tightly built,

and now the mold
is all over the place.

So, Hurricane Katrina just
devastated Eastern New Orleans.

Just imagine a home.

It was a mess, the smell.

The other thing that was
onerous about it all

was you could smell
death in the air.

♪

(indistinct conversation)

♪

We have to go down Jacob,
I need to see my house.

♪

(sirens blaring)

♪

Hard to believe I lived in it.

♪

Oh, God.

♪

This is the inside
of the garage,

Eric’s flag is still hanging up.

♪

(clanking)

(sobbing)

♪

(indistinct remarks)

♪

(indistinct remarks)

Oh, my God.

(indistinct remarks)

♪

Look at all that stuff.

♪

Fell right in the middle
of their yard.

(indistinct remarks)

♪

See the holes in the roof
we had to punch out to get out?

Can you imagine being
in the house and floating?

♪

Well, the park had a levee
running around it,

but it was
basically a small levee

just to keep the water
from the park

going into
the surrounding areas,

and that’s why we had
our own pump station installed

on the park, so we were
maintaining that water

from going to other places,
going to other properties,

like I said, but, you know,
to envision what happened,

no, I don’t think anybody
envisioned that

that would happen
to not only Jazzland,

but the city of New Orleans.

Just the magnitude of that loss,

and that--the damage
that was done.

♪

(traffic whooshing past)

♪

(insects chirring)

♪

In every single
building here,

you can see where
the water was standing

in all of these buildings.

All right, so we’re walking into
the simulator bays now

to the SpongeBob ride,

and while some of it
has been gutted,

here is one of the final...

...simulator bays.

(insects chirring)

This way.

(creaking)

Oh my God.

This bay still has
the screen in it.

Whatever is left of it,
at least.

Well, yeah.

Wow.

So, this over here is the
park administration building.

Oh my God.

-Oh my God, look at this.
-Yeah.

Jazzland.

Oh, jeez.

You know what this was?

This was the park’s
audio system.

-The thing playing music.
-Yeah, ambient music

probably would’ve been
played through here.

-Holy Christ.
-The equalizer tracks,

it looks like
it had three of them.

Look at where the water was.

-The water line is right here.
-Yeah, each little line

that you see going down is where
the water sat as it receded.

-It’s amazing.
-That is unbelievable.

-"We’re going live."
-"We’re going live in ' !"

Everything is
stuck in time here.

"Suggestions sell...earn those."

Holy--look at this.

♪

Oh my gosh.

♪

Wow.

♪

Look at this.

(insects chirring)

♪

This was
the manager’s office here.

This point, this is, um...

♪

This whole office looks like
it was in a shipwreck,

like they just pulled it
out of the ocean.

-Oh, wow.
-Yeah, look at this.

This is where they would
monitor each area.

Yep.

Look at this,
still has the price tag on it.

The month Katrina hit,

,

and this office stopped.

Six Flags New Orleans,

Fright Fest .

Of course, it never happened.

Then, the schedules,
August nd, ,

to August th, .

Wow.

♪

Despite the park’s
Southern climate,

Six Flags New Orleans was on
a seasonal operating schedule.

The park’s last day open
was August st, .

Scheduled to open the weekend
of the th and th,

the park closed
due to storm preparation,

and the plan to open was moved
to the following weekend.

The park never opened again.

♪

(shuffling feet)

Watch out for nails.

(door creaking)

Again, look at
the water line in here.

♪

Man, I’m...

What’s in here?

-Whoa.
-Clothing area.

-Wow.
-Whoa.

-This is where all the--
-Yeah, you’re right,

this is costuming.

Some of them
are still in the bags.

-That’s so incredible.
-Yeah, look at that.

That, too.

♪

Look at that, "Men’s pants,"
these are all

still in their packaging.

-Just ready for someone to--
-Dry cleaned and ready to go.

Yeah, unbelievable.

Holy crap.

♪

This is, like, the--
this is the warehouse

-where they’d take shipments--
-Yeah, yep,

this is where
they stored everything.

Oh my God.

♪

It’s something else.

Look at--look.

The park was gearing up
for a Halloween celebration

at the end of August.

Well, they were gearing up
at the end of August.

So, I think that’s why they have
Halloween cups in here.

-Hey, check out these--
-Oh, yeah,

Halloween decorations.

Wow.

Oh my God, man.

This is unreal.

I remember going into the park.

Interestingly, it was
a really nice weather day.

Came back,
actually went into my office.

There were a handful of files
that I wanted to recover.

Unfortunately,
they were unrecoverable.

There was some memorabilia
that I had

that I wanted to recover.

Unfortunately, that too
was unrecoverable.

The office was total trash,
you know, of course, furniture,

like any other Katrina casualty.

The furniture was upside down,

inside out,
water lines on the walls,

you know, mold and mildew
and so forth.

Physically, if you walked
the park itself outside,

it really didn’t look that bad,

because we were an outside
facility to begin with.

If you just took
from the midway down,

oh, the park looks fine.

It’s when you went into
the actual facilities

that you saw the level
and the extent of the damage.

I will say that Six Flags
Corporate, as a company,

was extremely generous
to the employees

of the New Orleans park

following Hurricane Katrina.

We actually remained on staff
and remained on payroll.

We got paid every two weeks

from the time of the hurricane

until the end of April
the following year.

We had a company-wide
conference.

It was all the parks
in the entire Six Flags system

in San Antonio that year,

that would’ve been in either
late or early ,

and Six Flags had gone
through a--Six Flags Corporate

had gone through
a management change.

Gary Story was
the president and CEO

when we became Six Flags.

We had a change in leadership,

and at that conference
in San Antonio,

it was me
and another counterpart,

we introduced ourselves to him,

we said, "We’re from
the New Orleans park,"

and I said, "We hope that
we have a park to come back to."

And he gave me this look,
and he didn’t say anything,

and he just
kind of nodded his head,

and I knew at that moment,
I said, "We’re not going back."

I said, "They’re not gonna
rebuild this park."

♪

I don’t know that
they thought too much

about any of their parks
in that particular era.

The maintenance,

or lack thereof
at several properties,

AstroWorld was
disgustingly dirty.

New Orleans,
they kept it cleaner,

but it wasn’t really high
on their priority

to do any upgrades.

They weren’t doing upgrades
at any of their parks

in that particular time,
which is part of the reason

that led
to the hostile takeover

in December of ,

it was they were
really just trying

to keep the bills paid.

In , Six Flags
began selling off assets

to try and help pay off
their growing debt.

That year,
the company as a whole

lost over $ million,

and after Hurricane Katrina,

they determined the damage done
to their New Orleans park

was over $ million.

The company then embarked
on a long and tedious battle

with their insurance company
over the exact payouts.

In the meantime, the Six Flags
New Orleans parking lot

had been used
as a FEMA trailer camp.

There was definitely
too many things going on

for them to worry
about New Orleans.

New Orleans was not
the only property

they abandoned
at that particular time.

Kentucky Kingdom
was likewise never reopened.

It shut down
about the same time.

AstroWorld, obviously,
was shut down at the same time,

and it had nothing to do
with the hurricane,

it was simply
a business decision

that they needed money.

So they closed down
the parks that were drains

or where they felt like
they could get a quick cash grab

and solve other issues.

With New Orleans,
when Dan Snyder took over,

he had way too many issues
with the rest of the chain

to try to worry about

what was happening
in New Orleans,

and since it was a smaller park
and a smaller profit center,

it wasn’t a cash cow for him
to really worry about.

It was, I’ll tell you,
it was a little hurtful,

but I think,
in the back of my mind,

we all kind of knew
that it was probably a - ,

maybe an - % chance

that we were going
to get this park back.

By ,
Six Flags quietly began

removing attractions
from the park for relocation,

never publicly saying
what they had planned

to do with the park.

In , the company
finally negotiated

out of their land lease
with the city,

paying out just $ million
and giving the land back

to the City of New Orleans.

There’s a certain point
where you can’t be optimistic,

where you see
Six Flags coming in

and taking rides out,

it’s not a good sign.

And they took the assets
that they brought into the park,

any of the assets
that they wanted,

and then those
that they had no interest in,

they left them at the facility,
they left them at the site.

♪

Today, the only visitors
to the park are vandals,

thieves, and urban explorers

curious and eager to capture
what’s left behind.

I remember seeing it
really, really early,

like right after
the water receded,

and my heart just broke.

I mean, it looked--
it just looked sad.

It looked empty,

it looked like it had
been hit by a hurricane.

It looked lonely,

and I remember,
because I was in th grade,

it wasn’t that long ago
that I was here

when everything was lively
and, you know, going on.

And so it hurt my heart
to see it,

that’s the saddest thing.

It hadn’t really hit me yet
that this was a city-wide thing,

but this was just like
the biggest monument, I think,

that I had personally been to

that was at one time so colorful

and now was all watermarked
and dirty and broken.

It’s definitely eye-opening
to see

how easily Mother Nature

can take back things
so quickly, quietly.

♪

Hurricane Katrina left
Six Flags New Orleans destroyed.

It has been years,

and the park sits there
frozen in time.

Would rebuilding a theme park
in New Orleans

fill the hole in the community
and prosper?

Jazzland failed
in just a few years,

but Six Flags New Orleans
was a success.

With $ . million in revenue,

the park profited $ . million.

However, in ,
Six Flags declared bankruptcy.

Ultimately,
the decision was made

to abandon
their New Orleans park,

leaving a permanent scar
in the community.

While Mayor Nagin wanted
Six Flags to come back,

it just really wasn’t
in the cards.

I think the crowds
had gone down,

I don’t think they drew
as many people out there

for whatever reason,
I don’t know.

We all worked so hard

to make the park
an amazing experience

and to try to bring
as many folks as we could.

And we did--we did great volume
in sales of season passes

and group tickets
for weekends, of course,

but we always struggled
with weekday attendance.

You know, it’s hard.

We’re a smaller market,
so to get folks to drive in

from Mississippi or Alabama
during the weekday,

that’s a weekend trip,

so we relied
on the New Orleans market

to support us,
and for better or worse,

unfortunately or fortunately,

depending on how you look at it,

I don’t know
if we ever felt the love

that we really should have felt
from people in New Orleans.

Another thing that I think
was a detriment to us

was the fact that it’s hot here,

you know, I mean,
there’s no denying

that New Orleans is a hot city.

And not having a water park
as a supplemental element

certainly did hurt us.

You know, again,
we were actually planning

to put the water park in
for the--

would have been the season,

but Hurricane Katrina

certainly had
other plans for us.

For a Six Flags type park,
the numbers were low.

Six Flags parks typically get

at least two million people
a year.

The New Orleans market
is a smaller market,

so the numbers were less
than a million.

But if you look at
locally owned regional parks,

family type parks.

Those attendance numbers
are in the ,

to one million range.

Those are numbers

that sustained
those family parks very well

with profit margins
as high as percent.

Six Flags even in New Orleans

had profit margins
of over percent.

It’s a smaller market,

but it’s still
a profitable market,

and we’re not expecting it
to be anything above and beyond

what was necessarily there
before.

If we just do what they did,
we will be doing quite well.

I actually, like the city
would have cared,

I actually sent an email
to City Hall

and I said, "Six Flags
is gonna bail."

Like they’re gonna
pay attention,

but I just knew it,

there was no way
that they would stay.

They were in it to, like I said,

get that low-cost investment

where they can put in
$ million, $ million here

for new attractions
or expansions.

They weren’t gonna rebuild
a park from scratch.

At that time, Nickelodeon
was looking at the park

to rebuild it as
a Nickelodeon theme park

that we tried--

I was working with them
at the time as well.

We tried for about
six months altogether

before that effort
really just hit

one dead end after another.

Mayor Nagin’s term was ended,

and Mayor Landrieu
came into office,

so things kind of started
all over fresh with him in .

We proposed to rebuild it
as Jazzland.

This is our plans
for the whole area.

This about a -year buildout.

Where the park is,
along with associated lands

to really turn it into a large,
destination-quality resort.

Long term, years,
we’d love to see two theme parks

as well as the water park
and mixed use,

something kind of like
a Downtown Disney,

something that gives
both the locals

as well as tourists

shopping and entertainment
options and dining.

The theme park itself,
right now, we’re estimating

about $ million to rebuild it,

compared to
a brand-new theme park.

A brand-new theme park
would be $ million.

So it’s still
a huge cost savings,

and it’s what makes
the project feasible.

You cannot build
a new theme park in this market

because you cannot justify
those costs.

We’ve looked at every building,

every item, every ride,
everything,

and have individual
cost estimates

for each individual thing.

The concrete is what’s primary,

is what makes it the most
efficient use to rebuild.

The concrete and foundations
were built very well.

They’re on top of piers
that have supported them,

there’s no cracks,
they are structurally sound,

and they can support
the new equipment

that would be brought in.

So things like Mega Zeph,
which has steel infrastructure,

that can be rebuilt for
$ . million to $ million

versus building new
that would have been

about $ million.

Right now, I have my sights
on the Six Flags site,

which we are now running numbers
for demolition,

really as I speak.

-Honestly?
-Did you not know?

-No, you want me to be serious?
-Be absolutely honest.

Yeah, they’ve been saying that
for , years.

They stopped talking about it,
you know, late ,

nobody really said anything,

and then you’d see
like a news article

in the Times-Picayune
and they go,

"Oh, well,
somebody’s buying the park.

Let’s see if they rebuild it,

or let’s see
if they build a subdivision,

or see if they build
like a shopping mall,"

and then it was nothing.

I really doubt
an amusement park

could ever be
in that site’s future.

They know that it’s an issue
with trespassing.

They feel that getting rid of it

would be the easiest solution
to keep the trespassers out.

Unfortunately, that doesn’t do
anything for the neighbors.

It’s still a blighted,
abandoned property

that would be sitting there.

It is surrounded by vacant land
that hasn’t been developed

for the last years,

there’s no reason to suspect
that a demolished park

would all of a sudden
be attractive and be developed.

If you have the funding,

if you believe
that you can do this,

bring the park back up,

why would the city
not want to do that?

Why would the city
not want to go with you?

You’re trying to get me
into trouble.

We know that
the previous administration

didn’t necessarily
support development

in New Orleans East.

The current administration
seems more open

and wanting to do things
for New Orleans East,

but there is
a perception issue.

The people of New Orleans East
are not given credit

for the quality of life
that they really do have.

It’s a nice neighborhood,
there are great people

that live in New Orleans East.

That was some of the things
that the developers sold us,

saying it’s gonna be
just like you living

a block away from Disney World,

and your property value
will soar,

but since Katrina, ,
it’s been sitting dormant,

empty, and ruined
since that time,

so how is that gonna
make a positive effect

on your home,
on the value of your home

when you’ve got
an eyesore like this?

♪

I would think that if this was
in Downtown New Orleans,

it wouldn’t take this long
for the city

to actually do something
with it.

By being out here
in this neighborhood,

or whatever, I guess
they just take their time.

We’re talking
and now we’re in .

Take a walk up on my deck

and you take a look
over the back,

and what I remember seeing
years ago

was a bunch of forest,
beautiful,

and now you come up here
and, of course,

the first ,
feet you see the trees,

but then you see
a parking lot that’s empty

with rusted-out lights,

and then you see
the roller coaster

off in the distance
that’s sitting dormant,

just sitting there and whatever.

We just hoped that the city
would do something with it.

My home was valued more in

than it is
currently valued today.

Whereas the rest
of New Orleans,

outside of Eastern New Orleans,

the values have surpassed
the pre-Katrina values.

So from--if you’re a resident
and you’re sitting there

and you’re kinda waiting
for things to come up,

and one of the crowning
elements of blight

that is depressing
the values of properties

is this Jazzland site.

So it’s been frustrating
for our residents

for a long time.

And the problem is
there’s not a plan yet

to do something about it,

so residents have just
been sitting there

with major investments
and, for many people,

the biggest investment
they’ll make in their lives

is in their homes,

and they’re seeing those values,

in many cases,
they’re upside down.

He will be the moral compass
of this city.

We need a champion

who will guide a master plan
to completion.

We need a champion
who will bring serenity

and safety back to our streets.

We need a champion
who will pave our roads

while paving the way
for a new generation.

We need a champion for change.

We need the next mayor
of the City of New Orleans,

Troy Henry!

(cheering and applause)

It was one of
the principle drivers

for me deciding to run
for office,

and for mayor specifically,

was because, I mean,
the executive branch

is supposed to execute.

And we had had
too many politicians

and not enough
managerial experts

that could really understand

how to manage
a complex enterprise.

I just have a vision
for the city that is different,

and having lived in California
and Pittsburgh

and Boston and D.C.
and Atlanta and Houston,

so I’ve seen a lot and seen
how those cities have grown

and sort of blown past
New Orleans,

and I wanted New Orleans
to have that chance

to realize that same sort
of meteoric growth.

And perhaps maybe
the residents of New Orleans

aren’t interested in being
a more cosmopolitan growth,

and maybe they want us
to kind of stay more the same.

But the risk of doing that
is what has happened now

is we’re sort of
a one-trick pony

principally
revolving around tourism.

New Orleans East
was really forgotten

for a number of years
after Katrina.

Everything that they’ve done,
they’ve had to do themselves.

They were last on the list
for the city.

But up until
the New Orleans East Hospital

finally reopened,
if you got sick,

if you had a heart attack,

you had to drive minutes
to get to someplace

so that you could be
taken care of,

because there wasn’t anyplace
in New Orleans East.

Just like
the previous administration,

I think they’re struggling.

They want to do something
for New Orleans East,

but the city doesn’t know
exactly what to do.

So they’ve hired consultants
to do studies

and all kinds of stuff,

but what they really
don’t have is a deal.

They don’t have
a development plan.

So they’ve gotten these folks
to come up and say,

"If you do this, this will
make it more attractive.

If you do this, this will
make it more attractive."

The long and short of it is,
a person who’s got money

and who’s got a deal
is gonna do a deal.

All of this,
"This is gonna make it better,

and that’s gonna
make it better,"

that’s just moving the chairs
around the deck of the Titanic.

The city had been
working on a report

about the best use.

It was a best use study
for the site.

They came up with best use
being something

with a lot of green and nature.

In the very same sentence,
they said,

"It needs to be big and bold,

something that’s gonna
bring the tourists in,

like birdwatching."

There was complete silence
in the room.

(insects buzzing)

Obviously, the residents
were not happy at all.

They want the park to come back.

From everything
that they’ve told us

and from everything
we’ve read online

and when we’ve spoken with them
and met with various people,

that’s what they want.

After that meeting, they said

that they were gonna
come out with an RFQ,

so I think the timing
works to their benefit

as far as,
"We’re doing something,

we’re going to award this
to a developer,

we’re taking steps,

so please give us your votes
this November."

The city is fishing,
and they’re desperate,

because it is, you know,
election time in October.

But I’m also hopeful that,
for the first time,

they’ve probably got a--
we believe our offer

is gonna be
a truly credible offer.

I wanted to bring back

a sports
and entertainment complex

to the Jazzland facility.

We’re one of the bidders
on this project now,

so our proposal is
to reconstitute it

as an amusement park,

adding a water park
and a sports complex to it.

Our vision is to make this

a bigger sports
and entertainment concept,

so that’s what we'll be
proposing to the city.

I don’t know if they'll
accept our proposal

as the right vision.

Our second alternate proposal

is we’ve also had
some discussions with Amazon

as a distribution center
for that site.

We’re not sure which one
of those two visions

will end up...

If we’re selected,
we’re gonna kind of

evaluate both of those
principally,

and whichever one
makes the most sense,

if we’re selected,
we’re gonna execute on that.

Yes, all those things
would be lovely in that area.

We’re getting an Amazon
here in Baton Rouge, a huge one,

and it does employ
a lot of people,

but there’s just
better locations

for those things.

You could even
go down the street

to the old plaza location

that the city kind of has
its fingers on,

because of loans
and taxes and stuff.

That would be far better
for those purposes

than the park property.

We’re expecting
to be under construction

sometime in ,

which means we open in .

They definitely need

entertainment venues
to come back.

The hotels are struggling
right now.

Many of the downtown hotels
don’t even have

percent occupancy,

and they need something
that’s going to help boost

and bring families
and tourists back,

so we’re hoping maybe
that plays out to our benefit,

but we’ll see.

In the short term, I mean,

obviously, these companies
are struggling,

but the ones that are going
to be able to weather the storm

have to view a growth strategy.

So as we emerge
out of this pandemic

and the depressing earnings
that they’ve realized,

it now gives them the ability
to sort of rebound

in a bigger way
than it even did pre-pandemic,

because now they’ve got
more assets

that are now available
in the marketplace.

So we think that
they’re all hurting right now,

but we think, come time
where we’re now

redeveloping that site,

they’re all looking
at the future.

We’ve always wanted the public

and the community
to be involved.

A little less
than two years ago, we said,

"Well, why wait
until we’re open?

Why wait until
we have the property?

Why not just do it now?"

We’ve created what we call
the Rhythm Section,

which is
our New Orleans East specific

community advisory board.

It’s composed of people
that actually do live

within just a very short
distance of the park,

and they are with us
every step of the way.

We get their feedback
and comments

on everything we do,

they get an advanced copy
of the RFQ response

so that they can give us
their feedback

as to what they want.

This response is very much
going to be theirs,

because the park is theirs.

But I think the idea
of rehabilitating

and reinvigorating
an amusement complex

that now has a water park to it,

that now has
an amusement park to it,

that now has
a sports complex to it,

and making it into
a family-friendly destination

tied in with the cruise lines

is something that’s very unique
and is a unique opportunity

for us to take advantage of.

Fulfillment center is great,

but to me, that would be B.

If I had my druthers,
and if we can make--

get the commitments
that we need to happen happen,

you know, I think the sports
and entertainment complex

would be pretty exciting.

And I think it would bring

the rest of the residents
in the region

back to New Orleans East
with a positive light,

because recently the things
they’ve heard most about

have been crime-oriented things
that have happened

in Eastern New Orleans.

I think this would be something

that would make regional noise,

it would make--
it would really be

a reinvigorating
and revitalization

that is long,
long, long overdue.

Even if we get
the concessionaire agreement,

that, come this fall
and they get reelected,

what’s to stop them from saying,
"Okay, we tried, never mind"?

It’s definitely a thought
that goes through our heads,

because we’ve been
through this process

a time or two,

and there’s not a lot of faith.

♪

Okay, good morning, everyone.

The Purchasing Bureau
does hereby certify

they are unable
to perform RFQ #

Six Flags/Jazzland site
redevelopment

on this day, Tuesday,
March th, , at P.M.

(telephone ringing)

Let me just ask you then,
sort of broadly,

what’s your overall
reaction today?

We are definitely
very disappointed.

Disappointed, frustrated,

irate, to some extent.

We definitely do not feel
like the scoring was done

in a fair and equitable manner.

This was a day that we had said

this would probably
be it for us,

and it still might be it for us.

We’ll all move on
and do our other things

that we’ve been doing anyway.

’Cause it has been
a long nine years,

and to have the community
and the public

completely omitted
from the process

just doesn’t give us
a lot of faith

in anything moving forward.

When you’ve got
such a prominent intersection

that is now
such a prominent eyesore,

it’s kind of demotivating
for people.

Every day, a vast majority
of numbers in people

in New Orleans East
drive right by it,

and they just look at it,
and they just--

it’s a remembrance of the past,

and it’s blight.

Unfortunately, I think
a lot of people

have given up on it,

because when Six Flags decided

just to take insurance money
or whatever they did,

I really think they were glad
Katrina came along,

I think they wanted out.

I think they wanted
to close the park,

they had already closed
AstroWorld.

I think this might have been
a way out for them,

I don’t know.

Honestly, most people
had given up a long time ago

on the park ever coming back.

♪

This is where you would come
to purchase tickets,

groups sales, will call.

Season ticket holders, I think,

entered at the other end,
if I remember,

and if you were buying
just a ticket for the day,

you would come up here,
and one of these,

purchase your ticket.

(gate clicking)

This was the main street.

All the gift shops
were along here

and were air conditioned,

which was very nice
in the summer.

This is heartbreaking to see.

As the graffiti says,
this could have been beautiful,

and it was very beautiful.

I’m very sad now.

We would come
several times a year.

Had many, many good times
out here.

So here we are at Mega Zeph.

Obviously, the riders
waited in here

for Mega Zeph
to come around this way

and pull up here.

It is obviously very overgrown

and...pitiful.

Jocco used to live
up on top of the building.

He was this big jester guy

who would laugh at you
and squirt water on you.

This is where you lined up,
the queue line here.

It was a little neater
back then.

We called it the laser tag ride,

since I own a laser tag,

and all my kids
would think of it

as a laser tag ride,

because you were actually
sh**ting targets

with the g*ns
that were on the cars.

(distant laughter)

(machinery whirring)

♪

(screaming)

♪

(indistinct talking)

♪

This is what was Jocco’s ride.

This is one of the cars

that has been
completely stripped,

the g*ns are gone.

You earned points by tagging--

talking laser tag talk--

by hitting the targets,
you would earn points.

You got a score on the car.

You can see
where the screens were.

And it wound all through here

with different targets to hit.

It was very colorful,
minus the graffiti.

Big fleur-de-lis on the front,
all Mardi Gras colors,

everything was
Mardi Gras colored.

There was a g*n
to sh**t targets here

and a screen for score.

This one is still here.

Mardi Gras--
Jocco’s Mardi Gras Madness.

Hmm.

Everything’s gone.

♪

(insects chirring)

♪

(static zapping)

(indistinct talking)

♪

(fireworks exploding)

♪

(screaming)

♪

Here they come.

♪

Are you happy at Jazzland
on your first day?

-Yeah, you?
-Yeah!

(static zapping)

♪

It’s devastating, I mean,

to think that the city
let that park get like that

over all these years,
it makes me very angry,

and it’s very sad,

because of
all the memories I have.

Just remembering all the fun.

♪

If I would be in the car
with someone else

and we were driving past it,

I would be cranking
my head around,

and, like, looking
at what rides are going, and...

♪

That was really fun,
just to drive past it.

But now it’s--it's just there.

♪

I find it very funny still

that when I drive
to my family’s home

and that sign still says
on there, "Closed for Storm."

♪

Just kinda like frozen in time,

a suspended animation element
from that park’s past.

♪