CLEVELAND, Ohio – Super Bowl champion and longtime Cedar Point fan Travis Kelce is teaming up with an activist investment firm to try to revive the amusement park’s parent company.
Jana Partners announced Tuesday that it has teamed up with Cleveland Heights native Kelce, along with consumer executive Glenn Murphy and technology executive Dave Habiger, on an investment in Six Flags, the parent company of Cedar Point, Kings Island and dozens of other amusement and water parks across North America.
As of Tuesday, the Jana Group now owns 9% of Six Flags.
According to a press release, the group plans to engage with Six Flags’ management and board of directors “regarding opportunities to increase shareholder value and enhance the customer experience.”
Six Flags spokesman Gary Rhodes said the company looks forward to engaging with the new investors.
“We value the views of shareholders and take their feedback seriously as we continue to advance our initiatives to increase ridership, improve our guests’ experience and generate profitable growth and shareholder value,” it said in a statement.
Six Flags, which merged with Cedar Fair in 2024, had a tough year, with a sharp decline in attendance and revenue through June, coupled with discussions about selling the parks.
Related: What’s next for Six Flags? Cedar Point parent company faces park sale and possible bankruptcy
The company’s stock price has fallen more than 50% since the merger. However, it recovered on Tuesday following Jana-Kelce’s announcement, closing at $26.34, up 21% for the day.
Kelce, a tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs, is engaged to pop superstar Taylor Swift.
In a social media post, Kelce said he “couldn’t pass up the opportunity to continue the tradition and make Cedar Point and Six Flags even more special for the next generation of families.”
He added: “It’s so crazy to imagine that this is real, but you have to love it when life comes full circle.”
On his New Heights in 2023 podcast, Kelce spoke with his brother Jason about their summer trips to Cedar Point when they were kids. In this podcast, the two debated which of Cedar Point’s many roller coasters was the best – with Jason favoring Millennium Force and Travis expressing support for Raptor.
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