17 replies to this topic

[mz_]

Credit: The Sun News

After failing to find a buyer, Hard Rock Park asked a Delaware bankruptcy court Friday for permission to liquidate, signaling once and for all that it will not be able to reopen.

The park asked the court to convert its bankruptcy from a Chapter 11 to Chapter 7. Under a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a business can continue operating while it tries to reorganize its debts, but under a Chapter 7, a trustee is appointed and the property and assets are sold to pay creditors, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

The park, which said it was worth $400 million when it opened in April, was unable to attract any bidders willing to pay at least $35 million for the park at a Dec. 15 auction, according to court documents.

The park closed and filed for bankruptcy protection in September. It is still unclear whether the park will be sold in whole to one company _ which may or may not run it as a theme park _ or will be sold off piece by piece.

[Drewfrickitydo]

Thats so depressing, i saw some reports and pictures and stuff from the park and it looked pretty damn awesome. Its a shame that park didnt open at another time in our economy.. ;(

[mz_]

Thats so depressing, i saw some reports and pictures and stuff from the park and it looked pretty damn awesome. Its a shame that park didnt open at another time in our economy.. ;(

True. It was the start of a bad time (April 2008), I really wanted to check out the park at some point. Hopefully they will try to keep the park as a whole. If not, it'll be interesting to see what happens with the coasters, Led Zeppelin seemed cool.

[Drewfrickitydo]

Eh apparently the rides werent nothing to write home about, i think that was the biggest problem, the theming of the majority of the park however is what was driving me to come. Not seeing it as a whole would probably depress the balls off me.

[Jakemeister]

I wonder who is going to buy the rides...

[Drewfrickitydo]

Wuhoo, Pending court approval

The hard rock park has been bought and will be reopened

25 million dollars it sold for.. DEAR GOD what a steal.

I should have won the lottery and bought it hahah

This is good news though, i will definitely have to go there before it dies again.. WHOS UP FOR IT!

[mz_]

Topics merged, and more on the sale.

Credit: Screamscape

(2/11/09) The big news today is that Hard Rock Park has found a buyer… pending approval by the courts. According to the article posted on Myrtle Beach Online a newly formed company called FPI BM has offered to buy the park for $25 million, as is, and has put $2.3 million down already. The goal is to make the sale very quickly in the hopes to get the park back up and running in time to reopen by Memorial Day Weekend. This is great news to be sure, but I’m just curious who’s the mystery force behind the curtains? The only clue I’ve received so far came from a local area reader today who claims that one of the new owners may be from Russia.

[mz_]

Sale not over?
Credit: Screamscape

(2/12/09) A little more information has trickled in today about the new possible owners of Hard Rock Park. According to Reuters “FPI MB” is a mixture of a group of local investors from the Myrtle Beach area, a Florida based group called Roundbox Advisors and a group called “Freestyle Park International” which is a division of MT Development of Moscow. Unfortunately, these are all new names to me as well, so I don’t know anything about their past history or background but they say that they’ve already retained a management company to run the park. Internet buzz says that Baker Leisure Group may have been tapped as the management company if the sale goes through. The court hearing to approve the sale is now set for Tuesday, February 17th.
The story may not be so simple however as this second article mentions that the owner of Wild Water and Wheels in Surfside Beach is working with another group of investors to try and make their own offer to buy the park before the end of the week.

[mz_]

More digging.
Credit: Screamscape

(2/13/09) One of our readers did a little bit of digging that does seem to paint an interesting picture for Hard Rock Park. While doing some research on Russia’s Freestyle Park, an indoor snow park / ski slope concept, this article reveals that they already have a relationship with Baker Lesiure Group. It’s also interesting to remember that one of Baker Leisure Group’s big clients over the years… in fact the company’s very first client was Hard Rock Café. Take all that for what you will, but this kind of fits right in with a new rumor that claims FPI MB would like to continue to use the Hard Rock Park brand name for the park. According to Discover Myrtle Beach there is still a link and mention of Hard Rock Park on the official Hard Rock website as well.

[mz_]

Credit: Screamscape

(2/16/09) A little more info has come about the proposed plan from that second group hoping to make a bid for Hard Rock Park. According to a news article they will dump the name, but keep the basic musical theme of the park, add more kiddie rides, and give admission to the park for free but make you pay-per-ride instead, much like the old Myrtle Beach Pavilion and Family Kingdom parks.

[Drewfrickitydo]

im soooo on the fence about that last post... I really was digging the hardrock atmosphere.. guh.. family parks = teh suck.

[mz_]

A third bidder?
Credit: Screamscape

(2/17/09) According to Discover Myrtle Beach a third potential buyer for the park, Coastal Entertainment LLC, has stepped into the spotlight. According to the posting, Coastal is claiming that their bid does not requiring financing and that they would be able to make the purchase immediately. The judge will review the current offers on the table tomorrow and decide if they will simply sell the park or open up a bidding auction.

[Dreamstalker]

Source: Screamscape

The bankruptcy judge approved the sale of Hard Rock Park to FPI MB Entertainment LLC for the price of $25 million. The article also mentions that two of the original founders/investors of Hard Rock Park are also involved in the new company. The goal now, once all the paperwork is signed no later than 5pm Thursday, is to try and reopen the park in time for a Memorial Day Weekend reopening. The court documents do mention new rides and shows will be added to the park as well, though there is very little time to actually add any new permanent rides before Memorial Day weekend. As for those other two groups who wanted to buy the park… it seems the local group no-showed and Coastal Entertainment did make a late offer of $25.5 million but the judge said the offer was too little, too late.
According to this second article which contains some of the notes from the courtroom, a rep from Hard Rock International was there who confirmed an agreement with FPI to “destroy any Hard Rock branded merchandise” before the park reopens if they do not come to an agreement to extend the brand name license. FPI indicated that they would like to continue to use the Hard Rock brand name however, if they can come to an agreement.

[mz_]

Credit: Screamscape

(2/20/09) Hard Rock Park (or whatever it will be called when they reopen it) is planning on letting all of the old passholders know that they will still be able to use their passes this year as well for no extra cost. Even better, the price of a one day ticket to the park is likely to drop from $50 down to somewhere between $35-40 according to Steve Baker, head of Baker Leisure Group. It was also noted that the Annual Pass price would be dropped from the $150 to about $75 and that they are likely to offer extra discounts to locals in the future as well. They plan on putting an extra $15 million into the park before it opens, which will include adding 3-4 new kiddie rides and fixing up the coasters.

[mz_]

New Hard Rock Park owners ditch the name
Posted Today, 11:50A

Say goodbye to Hard Rock Park - the name, at least. The year-old theme park will have a new name when it opens by Memorial Day under new ownership, officials said Thursday. FPI MB Entertainment, which bought the $400 million park out of bankruptcy for $25 million, said a new name would be announced within a week.

[mz_]

Hard Rock Park renamed to Freestyle Music Park
Credit: The Sun News

The park will now be the Freestyle Music Park, officials announced Thursday, to complement another park the owners are developing in Russia.

"It was always kind of our plan B, our backup plan if we were not successful with obtaining the Hard Rock brand. We knew it was always a possibility from the minute we bought the park," said Steve Baker, president of the park's owner FPI MB Entertainment.

[mz_]

Here are some updated park and ride logos.

Park Logo



The Time Machine Coaster (Former Led Zeppelin Coaster)

[mz_]

Freestyle Music Park has a new commercial, and a new park map. You can check it all out here;

http://freestylemusicpark.com/blog/