Six Flags New Orleans has been a ghost town since its destruction during Hurricane Katrina.  New Orleans east residents can now rest assured that the property will now be turned into a water park, hotel and sports complex with retail and other amenities.  The deal started in talks in 2022 but many thought it had disappeared.  All parties have agreed on Bayou Phoenix will construct the project and the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority will be the landlord.  A meeting between developers, the redevelopment authority and NORA was brokered by District E Council member Oliver Thomas. 

Bayou Phoenix was chosen in 2021 to redevelop the abandoned theme park. It has taken this long to come to agreements due to the “bureaucratic tangling over who actually owns the blighted property.  Currently, the property is owned by the Industrial Development Board which is a standalone city agency.

“The city doesn’t have a good reputation for getting business done quickly.  So if we’ve entered into an agreement with this group, and we trust them enough to pick up them for the development, then let’s not have them have to answer or come back to every approval,” said Thomas.

Residents do not need to hold their breath, as the grand opening for the project is slated for years down the road.  In fact, it is still up in the air when developers can even have access to the 227-acre site to begin construction.  Thomas did say that after Mardi Gras, they will announce a phased development goal. Bayou Phoenix will need to have its master plan approved.

“Presuming it’s in line with what they proposed and, obviously, there’s community support, it should be a fairly straightforward process,” says Jeff Schwartz, the Cantrell administration’s economic development director.