Premier Parks Officially Changes Name to Six Flags

Oklahoma City, OK -- Premier Parks Inc. (NYSE: PKS), the world's largest regional theme park company has changed its corporate name to SIx Flags, effective immediately. The change announced by Chairman and CEO, Kieran Burke takes advantage of the strong brand recognition associated with the Six Flags name.

"The move aligns the entire company with our valuable brand, putting us in a strong position to fully leverage the brand, especially in the partnership marketing area," Mr. Burke said. "Recent multi-million dollar sponsorship agreements with America Online, the Eastman Kodak Company and the major Spanish broadcasting television network, Univision, attest to the strength and power of the Six Flags brand and the blue-chip opportunities the brand can create for us."

Shareholders overwhelmingly approved the name change in mid-June. "Our shareholders recognize the tremendous asset our company enjoys with the Six Flags brand and the revenue-generating opportunities the intelligent application of it can produce for the company," Mr. Burke noted.

Mr. Burke pointed to independent research studies showing the Six Flags brand ranked first among teenagers ahead of such strong brands as Nike, McDonald's, Disney, MTV and Nintendo. Another study shows Six Flags tied with Nickelodeon for the top brand spot among children ages 1-6.

In the past three years, the company re-branded nine parks with the Six Flags name, after adding new rides, attractions and theme presentations to ensure a Six Flags caliber experience could be delivered. The world's first international Six Flags parks opened this year in Holland and Mexico to great fanfare and rave reviews.

"Six Flags Mexico, near Mexico City, and Six Flags Holland, near Amsterdam, validate the ability of the Six Flags brand to transcend borders, cultures and languages," Mr. Burke commented. The two new international Six Flags parks and two new Six Flags branded parks in the United States, Six Flags Ohio in Cleveland, and Six Flags New England, between Hartford, Connecticut and Springfield, Massachusetts, are turning in strong performances to date.

Four United States parks branded with the Six Flags name in 1999 reported exceptional seasons, generating in the aggregate a 21 percent increase in attendance and 31 percent increase in revenues. "The 1999 performance of the re-branded parks substantiated the power of the brand when applied carefully against the right product configuration to deliver increased attendance, longer in-park stays and higher guest spending. We see significant opportunities to accelerate attendance and revenue growth as we apply the Six Flags brand across our worldwide system," Mr. Burke said.

The name change also builds a platform for a major celebration next year to mark the fortieth anniversary of the Six Flags brand as well as the opening of the first Six Flags park in Arlington, Texas. The company will continue to trade on the NYSE under the ticket symbol: PKS.

Premier Parks Inc. purchased the Six Flags chain from Time Warner in 1998 to form the world's largest regional theme park chain.

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