Yesterday an activist investor announced that they had taken a 9 percent stake in Six Flags, noting that a well-known NFL star (Travis Kelsey) was one of their investors in this deal.
By my count that makes at least three investor groups holding positions in SIX - all who claim to have the answers that will resurrect SIX Flags from its malaise - with the latest one including a six-foot five, two-hundred and fifty pounds tight end as key to their strategy.
I have a number of thoughts on this, but decided to lead with the following:
There may be something in this announcement that fans of the parks can benefit from.
Travis Kelsey cannot afford to be associated with parks that do not deliver the experience he will be promoting. His brand is too valuable to bear the burden of social media that features evidence of declining maintenance and poor operating practices, the result of merger-induced cost cutting. He will need to be able to talk credibly about impressive new attractions and entertainment offerings.
From a marketing standpoint, I would not expect his name to draw any meaningful incremental attendance, but that may not be where he has the biggest impact.
If his role causes the experience across the parks to improve measurably this will be a come from behind victory.
If not, it won’t be so easy for him to shake it off.