Lease could be terminated in 3 years

GREAT AMERICA THEME PARK

Potential end date comes into view for operation of iconic amusement park

By George Avalos

SANTA CLARA >> The lease that enables California’s Great America amusement park to operate at its longtime South Bay site could be terminated in just over three years from now, public records show.

Real estate company Prologis could terminate the lease its affiliate has provided to California’s Great America for the land beneath the iconic theme park in Santa Clara as soon as June 30, 2028, documents filed Monday with the Santa Clara County recorder’s office show.

If that happens, Great America may have to halt operations by no later than mid-2028.

In 2022, a Prologis affiliate paid $310 million for 112.6 acres at 1 Great America Parkway, where the theme park has operated for decades.

As part of the deal, Prologis agreed to lease back to Cedar Fair, the amusement park’s operator and owner, the land the Prologis unit had just bought. In July 2024, Cedar Fair and Six Flags Entertainment completed a “merger of equals.” The new company retained the Six Flags name and former Cedar Fair management staff, including the chief executive officer, became the new company’s principal leaders.

Prologis and Cedar Fair completed the updated lease agreement Dec. 31, 2024, county documents show.

At the point the initial term of the lease expires in mid-2028, the amusement park operator could exercise an option to extend the lease for one five-year period.

However, a 2022 regulatory filing around the time San Francisco-based Prologis bought the property indicated that the park could close on a swifter time frame than the lease agreement.

“The lease is subject to a right in favor of Prologis to terminate the lease early by providing at least two years’ prior notice,” Cedar Fair stated in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing in June 2022.

It’s not clear whether Prologis has given or is preparing to give that prior notice as outlined in the SEC filing.

Prologis bought enough Santa Clara land through its purchase that an array of development opportunities is possible on the property between U.S. Highway 101 and Tasman Drive.