What Premier Parks does

Premier Parks is a privately held limited liability company that acquires, leases, and operates regional theme parks, water parks, and visitor attractions across North America. The company was founded in 1991 by Kieran Burke, who previously led the consolidation of the U.S. regional theme park industry and grew predecessor operations into what became Six Flags — at its peak encompassing 39 parks in 8 countries with over $1.3 billion in revenue before divesting. Premier Parks' current active portfolio comprises 14 properties across 10 U.S. states (Colorado, Washington, Arkansas, Hawaii, Texas, Florida, Virginia, Tennessee, Missouri, Oklahoma) and 2 Canadian provinces (Ontario, Quebec), including tier-one facilities such as Elitch Gardens (Denver), Magic Springs (Arkansas), Calypso Waterpark (Quebec), Nashville Shores (Tennessee), Rapids Water Park (Florida), Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier, and the multi-venue Calypso-Valcartier resort in Quebec. Annual attendance is approximately 6 million visitors.

The company operates a hybrid capital-light and capital-intensive business model: it purchases or enters long-term master lease arrangements for park real estate (the U.S. portfolio primarily sits under master lease with EPR Properties, a specialized experiential net-lease REIT), then operates the venues under consumer-facing brands. Revenue is generated through three streams — (1) admissions and season passes for theme parks and water parks, (2) in-park spending on food, beverage, merchandise, and ancillary attractions, and (3) management and master lease revenue from property owners. The corporate team is intentionally lean (11-50 employees at the operating company level) with a deeply experienced executive bench drawn heavily from former Six Flags leadership, supporting centralized best-practice deployment across the portfolio without proportional corporate overhead growth.

Premier Parks competes by leveraging multi-decade operational experience (cited as 250+ combined management years) to acquire underperforming or mature regional parks at attractive prices, then revitalize them through targeted capital expenditure, rebranding, and centralized marketing. Its stated portfolio-wide track record is an average 33% operational improvement with a 4.8% CAGR across more than 75 historic acquisitions totaling $2.5 billion in cumulative acquired-property revenue. The company's stated go-to-market strategy combines direct-to-consumer ticket sales at its park locations with enterprise business development (led by EVP Tom Iven) targeting property owners and investors across North America for additional acquisitions, leases, and management mandates.

Name

Premier Parks

Legal name

Premier Parks

Website

https://premierparks.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Premier Parks is a privately held operator that acquires, leases, and manages regional theme parks, water parks, and visitor attractions across North America, currently operating 14 properties serving approximately 6 million annual visitors with a lean, experienced executive team.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Amusement Park Operations and Management

NAICS

Amusement and Theme Parks (71311), Amusement and Theme Parks (713110), Amusement Parks and Arcades (7131), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Water Parks (Outdoor/Indoor, Wave Pools & Slides) (THAJAEAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Destination Theme Parks (Large-Scale, Multi-Attraction Parks) (THAJAEAA), Standalone/Pay-Per-Entry Water Parks (Day-Visitor Focused) (THAAABAD), Specialty & Entertainment Venue Property Management (BPAJAGAO)

Keywords

• Theme park operations
• Water park management
• Amusement park acquisition
• Visitor attraction management
• Park revitalization services

Headquarters

HQ city

Edmond

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Theme Park and Water Park Admissions: Revenue generated from admission tickets and season passes for theme parks, water parks, and visitor attractions serving individual consumers.
2. In-Park Spending: Food, beverage, merchandise, and additional attractions revenue generated from visitors within the parks.
3. Park Management and Lease Agreements: Premier Parks generates revenue through management agreements and master lease arrangements with property owners. Enchanted Parks operates U.S. properties under long-term master lease from EPR Properties.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Premier Parks is the largest independent operator of theme parks, water parks, and visitor attractions in North America. The company acquires, leases, and manages a portfolio of 14 family entertainment properties across the United States and Canada, and offers three core service lines to property owners: Buy and Lease, Management, and Revitalizing of mature or declining parks. Annual attendance is approximately 6 million visitors, generating roughly $250 million in revenue.

Product overview

Premier Parks operates as a unified platform for managing a diverse portfolio of family entertainment venues across North America. The portfolio comprises 14 core properties organized into three main product categories: Theme Parks (Elitch Gardens, Wild Waves, Magic Springs, Pacific Park), Water Parks (Wet'n'Wild Hawaii, Wet'n'Wild Toronto, Hawaiian Waters Colony, Hawaiian Waters Garland, Island H2O Water Park, Rapids Water Park, Ocean Breeze Waterpark, Nashville Shores, Valcartier, Valcartier Bora Parc, Calypso), and Visitor Attractions (City Museum, Adventure Park, Nashville Shores Marina, Lakeside Resort, Valcartier Hotel de Glace, Valcartier Winter Playground, Hotel Valcartier, Camping Valcartier). The company offers three core service lines: Buy and Lease (acquisition and leasing of parks), Management (comprehensive operations), and Revitalizing (renovation and rebranding of mature parks). Annual revenue is approximately $250 million with 6 million annual visitors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Elitch Gardens Theme & Water Park

Quantifiable outcome

• Portfolio average improvement of 33% with 4.8% CAGR
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Calypso-Valcartier GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 June 2022Calypso-Valcartier Group, Eastern Canada's largest leisure destination, joined Premier Parks' portfolio in June 2022. The group includes Calypso Waterpark, Village Vacances Valcartier resort complex, Hotel Valcartier, Bora Parc indoor water park, Valcartier Outdoor Water Park, Hôtel de Glace ice hotel, Valcartier Winter Playground, and Camping Valcartier. The company continues to be led by President and COO Sylvain Lauzon with Premier Parks providing industry expertise and management support.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves15 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Six Flags Entertainment Corporation: Premier Parks' CEO Kieran Burke took Six Flags public in the late 1990s and the current entity (Six Flags + Cedar Fair merged in 2024) is the largest regional theme park operator in North America with directly overlapping park categories, geography, and guest demographics.
• Cedar Fair Entertainment (legacy, now part of Six Flags Entertainment Corp.): Pre-merger, Cedar Fair operated 13+ regional theme parks (Cedar Point, Knott's, Kings Island, Worlds of Fun) with a similar mid-market family positioning and a water park portfolio that directly overlaps Premier's regional strategy.
• Herschend Family Entertainment: Privately held operator of regional parks including Silver Dollar City, Dollywood, and Wild Adventures; comparable in scale, family-focused positioning, and ownership profile as a non-public regional park operator with strong acquisition history.
• Palace Entertainment: Operates more than 20 regional theme parks, water parks, and family entertainment centers across the U.S. and Australia (Kennywood, Lake Compounce, Story Land); shares Premier's regional, mid-market operating model and relies on similar value-creation levers.

Broad incumbents

• SeaWorld Entertainment: Public operator of destination theme parks (SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, Sesame Place) and water parks (Aquatica); competes for overlapping guest wallets and seasonal water-park demand but at a higher-tier price point and capital intensity.
• Merlin Entertainments: Global attractions operator (LEGOLAND, Madame Tussauds, Sea Life) with a comparable mix of branded destination and regional attractions; relevant comparable for scale of multi-park management capability.

Regional players

• Compagnie des Alpes: Listed European operator of ski resorts and theme parks (Parc Astérix, Futuroscope, Walibi) with a model similar to Premier's mix of regional parks and resort-integrated attractions; comparable structurally though not directly competitive geographically.

Others

• EPR Properties: Premier's principal capital partner and landlord — the experiential REIT owns the real estate underlying a large portion of Premier's parks via master lease; included as an ecosystem relationship given its critical role in Premier's asset-light model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/premier-parks-llc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Premier Parks