City Now Owns Six Flags
Meg Gatto ABC26 News

12:00 a.m. CDT, April 11, 2010
New Orleans East—
Six Flags is finally turning over it's shuttered theme park to the city of New Orleans, along with millions of dollarsÂ…that's according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

It's sat vacant for years, but now, according to the Wall Street Journal, a bankruptcy court has ruled Six Flags can turn over the old park to the city along with $3 million and a portion of insurance monies valued at $65 million. The move opens the door for something new to be built on the site. New Orleans East resident Diane Boisseaux says, "We definitely need an amusement park, something that's going to draw the tourists here as well as something for our children."

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Developer Danny Rogers has been lobbying for months to build a new park, even though Nickelodeon recently backed out of a deal with his company, Rogers thinks a park can still be erected, so long as the city is willing to cooperate. "We're just looking towards the future and hoping that the city will step up and allow us the opportunity to rebuild a park and give it back to the people" Rogers says.

Many residents of New Orleans East feel that something needs to be built at the site, in order to help revitalize the area. Resident Eric Williams explains, "The absence of the social utilities we need like the supermarkets and hospitals and what have you, its really hard on us."

Rogers says he has the financing he needs, in fact he's already offered to buy the site for $12.5 million. His plans include family friendly rides and a water park, should the city take him up on his offer.

We tried contacting Mayor Nagin's office to find out what exactly they plan on doing with the land, but they didn't get back to us.