Six Flags Discovery Kingdom has anchored itself in Vallejo since relocating from Redwood City in 1987 and rumors of the theme park sniffing around Fresno are unfounded, according to Vallejo city officials.
The Times-Herald received an email late Thursday from a citizen claiming that Six Flags is “eventually going to move out of its present location to Fresno” presumably because the park was dissatisfied with the alleged slow progress of Mare Island and the Solano County Fairgrounds’ 360 Project.
Vallejo City Manager Greg Nyhoff put his thumb down on any Vallejo-to-Fresno move.
“I have heard this baseless rumor about the park leaving Vallejo, and according to park officials, it sounds as if there is absolutely no truth to this report, and the source reporting this is incorrect,” Nyhoff said. “Councilmember (Pippin) Dew and Mayor (Robert) McConnell both spoke with the park manager about this rumor. The park manager informed them that she had spoken directly to the corporate office inquiring about the rumor, and they verified that there was absolutely no truth to this story.”
“It is a false statement,” Dew said.
With Six Flags owning the 135 acres its on — with an agreement to split parking revenue — “I wouldn’t imagine they’d be going anywhere. It’s a big investment,” Dew said.
McConnell confirmed seeing the same “report” two weeks ago of the Six Flags-to-Fresno rumor, and and he said that park management had also heard the rumor from a “trusted source.”
McConnell said he was told that the report “had no validity to it. At this point we understand that there is no move. There is no move planned.”
Six Flags spokesman Marc-Angelo Merino said it’s the park’s policy “that we don’t comment on rumors.”
Neither does Visit Vallejo, the city’s tourist arm, but “I can clarify that Visit Vallejo has not heard anything about Six Flags Discovery Kingdom moving to Fresno,” said Visit Valljo president and CEO Michael Browne. “It is our understanding that they are happy here in Vallejo and look forward to making Vallejo their home for many years to come.
Six Flags is the No. 2 employer in Vallejo during non-pandemic summer seasons “and a welcome member of this community,” Browne said. “It delivers significant tourism and economic development in the form of the Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) to the City’s general fund and the Vallejo Tourism Business Improvement District (VTBID) assessment by the lodging community.”
Dew said Six Flags has been an important outlet for Vallejoans as much as tourists during COVID-19.
After a March pandemic shutdown, Six Flags re-invented itself, reverting to its animal showcase days in offering “The Marine World Experience” and adding a drive-up Holiday in the Park.
“I will say that I worked hard with the park and the county to get them open. It was all about being able to do it safely and give people that ability to go somewhere and experience something good for that mental well-being,” Dew said.
“I think it really is a beacon of hope for the community and we will be able to get out to experience the rides at some point. We’ll have the animals in the meantime and still do the drive-through experience and provide that outlet for people,” Dew said. “It breaks them from the daily grind of being stuck in the house.”
The originally-called Marine World Africa U.S.A. and its 500 animals outgrew its 62-acre home in Redwood City in 1985 after 17 years, choosing Vallejo over Mountain View and Oakland.
The Redwood Shores location is now the world headquarters of Oracle Corporation.
