Jazzland Team Aiming to Reopen Six Flags New Orleans

More than 11 years have passed since Six Flags New Orleans closed for Hurricane Katrina and never reopened. Since then, the abandoned, decaying amusement park has become a symbol for the lingering effects of the historic storm. But a plan to reopen Six Flags New Orleans could soon be one step closer to reality.

Reopen Six Flags New Orleans

First, a little background: the park originally opened as “Jazzland” in 2000 before being bought by Six Flags in 2002. It reopened as Six Flags New Orleans in 2003.

The owner of the park since 2009, the New Orleans Industrial Development Board, received an offer from the company planning to buy the park (and surrounding land — 224 acres in total) for $3.26 million. The group, TPC-NOLA, Inc., is led by themed entertainment consultant Tonya Pope and a team of amusement industry professionals.

The team’s multi-phase plan would begin with a mixed-used development with a focus on retail shops and dining — possibly opening as early as 2018. The team hopes that development would attract business that would eventually support the park once it reopened.

Unfortunately, the January meeting where the development board would have voted on Pope’s offer has been rescheduled to February 14. But in the meantime, the team did share an updated site plan for the amusement park on the “Jazzland Park” Facebook page below:

Jazzland site plan

One of the most noticeable changes to the park would be a new, larger entrance plaza as seen in the bottom right corner.

Through various replies in the Facebook posts, the team indicated that both the MegaZeph and Jester roller coasters would be restored in addition to the construction of a wild mouse and suspended coaster.

Below is a selection of concept art that was released in 2013. Although dated, they give an idea of what this team is proposing:

As stated above, the team is planning a suspended coaster for the revived Jazzland.

According to its website, the Jazzland team wants to reopen the park as a “true celebration of Louisiana by connecting the dots of community, history, identity, and artistry in a living testimonial to our spirit and pride.”

In recent years, the Six Flags New Orleans/Jazzland site has functioned mostly as a movie set and studio for films such as Jurassic World and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.

Learn more about the “Bring Back Jazzland” effort here. And stay tuned, as 2017 will likely be an interesting year for this park if Pope’s offer is accepted next month.

What do you think of the plan to reopen Six Flags New Orleans as Jazzland Park? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

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