But what about the monorail?

This week, Troy Henry and the city's economic development team he has been negotiating with over the Six Flags site showed up at a convention of water park operators to do a little carnival barking. 

The yearslong effort to redevelop the former Six Flags amusement park in New Orleans East took a major step forward Wednesday as the 227-acre property was formally turned over to Bayou Phoenix, the local group selected to tackle the ambitious project.

At a ceremony held during the annual meeting of the World Waterpark Association at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, Troy Henry, who leads the Bayou Phoenix consortium, signed the lease to cheers from residents and applause from public officials.

Henry's one dollar per year lease now gives him permission to demolish what remains of the flooded and shuttered park. Beyond that, though, nothing is guaranteed. In fact, Henry even says here that the master plan he's been waving around in order to drum up public support and secure his bid for the project will probably be altered once the demolitions are done. 

Now that the document is finalized and Bayou Phoenix has control of the property, Henry said his group can begin the difficult task of figuring out how to turn their vision into reality.

“We just got the keys, so now we have to assess the property because we need to understand if the master plan we have designed can physically be located in the way we have laid it out,” Henry said.

While today’s ceremony was a significant milestone, many questions about the project remain.

Over the next 12 months, the developers plan to assess the site and clear it out, demolishing the rusting old amusement rides and removing junk from the property. The Bayou Phoenix master plan will also likely change during that process as the partners get a better understanding of the land and determine what is feasible.

In other words, yes, we have been plying you with bullshit for years now. But trust us.  

A few months ago, WWLTV helped spread some of that bullshit by running a little feature about Tyler Perry's music partner. Apparently Henry had trotted him out to say vague things about how he could do Hollywood things of some sort on whatever the Six Flags site becomes. 

His next venture takes him from Hollywood back to his hometown of New Orleans as he tries to help revive the Six Flags site.

“I walked in there and immediately went into reimagining what the space could potentially be, including equity and inclusion. Being able to have representation for the unrepresented."

The former church organist from Hahnville has big plans for Six Flags and his own career. They include technology centers on the abandoned site and partnering with industries that can help teach the courses and plant the seeds in the next generation.

But at this week's signing ceremony, we learn that Henry doesn't actually have any partners lined up to operate any of the "attractions" he has promised. And, of course, it follows that there's no financing lined up for anything. 

The developers have had initial discussions with several operators, including nationally known brands that are interested in taking on various pieces of the project, Henry said. Because Bayou Phoenix did not have a signed lease agreement until Tuesday, however, it has not engaged in serious talks or, even, secured letters of intent with any specific partners.

For those same reasons, the group has not secured any financing commitments yet. The price tag for the project has previously been mentioned as ranging from $500 million to nearly $1 billion, though Henry said Tuesday that it will likely be closer to $500 million. 

It's well known that Henry and his friends in media and entertainment pull this sort of stuff all the time. It's also fairly well understood that this circle of friends extends into politics. 

 

Equity Media bought WBOK making Troy Henry, who also runs Bayou Phoenix, Councilmember Thomas’ boss. Seems like Troy is gonna have to give out some raises if Oliver secures the bag 💰 pic.twitter.com/knYh56H8fT

— Down For Whatever (@dadioonthepatio) May 12, 2023

Which, in turn, is one reason Troy's project, which may not have any solid partnership commitments or private financing, does have access to $100 million in public subsidies. 

Of that, an estimated 20%, or $100 million, is expected to come from city, state and federal funds, including the possible creation of a special taxing district and “other creative, innovative government programs,” Henry said.

Anyway as of right now, Troy has a one year lease. Let's check back next Halloween to see how many of these deadlines need to be extended.

Its first deadline is 12 months from the date of the lease signing, October 25, by which time it must have a sublease in place with an operator for at least one component of the project. That portion of the project must be completed in early 2027, according to the lease.

The developers will be considered in default if they do not hit the milestones, though the lease contains clauses that allow for extensions.