New Orleans Six Flags Wrecked by Hurricane Katrina is Finally Getting Demolished

A former Six Flags theme park in New Orleans, abandoned since Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, is finally being torn down.

Originally called Jazzland when it opened in 2000, the park went bankrupt after just two seasons. It was scooped up by Six Flags, but then Katrina hit, flooded the park, and it never reopened.

Six Flags eventually declared bankruptcy, and the city of New Orleans took control of the property. All the roller coasters and food stalls have been sitting there rotting ever since, a physical lingering memory of Katrina’s destruction. But finally, nearly 20 years later, the park’s demolition has begun.

A developer by the name of Bayou Phoenix plans to turn the 227-acre former theme Park site into a mixed-use development area. It’ll include a warehouse and distribution center, a waterpark, an Esports arena, a hotel, a movie studio, and a STEM educational center.

All of these kinds of mixed-use areas need some kind of anchor store that people continually go to and then visit all the other shops and businesses nearby, kind of like how small shops benefit from being near a movie theater or large department store.

Bayou Phoenix says they already have one “anchor tenant” locked in and are in negotiations with others that they hope will be finalized by year’s end.

A man named Troy Henry, a developer working on the new project, said to the Times-Picayune that this is “a happy day” and that “we’re happy to see the ball rolling.” He went on to say that there will be more updates about the project revealed to the public on November 12, 2024.