CoasterNews.Net » Hard Rock Park

Interesting Article Comparing Six Flags to Other Parks

Mike — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 18:21:57 +0000

Minyanville has posted an interesting article (see it here) about Six Flags (Great Adventure mostly I believe) and how it matches up to other parks in the categories of rides, seasonal attractions, marketing, accidents, and “Edutainment.” I have to disagree with some of their analysis. They claim that the rides at Six Flags (specifically Kingda Ka) are outmatched by the roller coasters (READ: 4) at Hard Rock Park. While I really like Hard Rock Park, they are many years off of over taking any Six Flags park in the rides department. Also, Six Flags’ marketing is getting better, but they are still far behind Disney. Finally I feel that it is unfair that they claim Six Flags has had tons of accidents. While they may have had more total accidents, they also have the most parks and the most possibility for accidents, so comparing them to Hersheypark (1 park) is a bit unfair.

New Hard Rock Park Owners Detail Changes

Mike — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 15:19:31 +0000

The new owners of Hard Rock Park recently spoke a bit with the Sun News. Notable changes include reduced admission prices, they will honor last year’s season passes, and plan to add a couple of more family attractions before the park opens. I really liked that the new owner mentioned, “I’ve always said that marketing brings them in, but operations brings them back.” That is a very true statement and hope that he can follow through on that for the sake of the park’s guests and the park’s future growth.

Hard Rock Park Sold (For Real This Time)

Mike — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 16:35:52 +0000

Hard Rock Park was officially sold to FPI MB Entertainment for $25 million. Coastal Entertainment made an offer for $25.5 million but the judge decided that their bid was too late and their funds could not be confirmed. FPI plans to open the park by Memorial Day weekend and will attempt to add some family friendly rides before then.

More information can be found at The Sun News.

Third Bidder for Hard Rock Park

Mike — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 18:11:46 +0000

Looks like a 3rd bidder is trying to join the battle for control of Hard Rock Park. According to The Sun News, the 3rd bidder is Coastal Entertainment LLC and they have filed a complaint with the court to postpone the sale of the park so they can have time to make an offer. They have stated they can pay upfront and require no financing to complete the purchase.

In another update to the story, it looks like the inclusion of the 3rd bidder might force the courts to put the park up for auction and let it go to the highest offer. It looks like the 2nd bidder hasn’t been mentioned yet, just FPI and Coastal Entertainment. Coastal Entertainment offered half a million dollars more in bidding this morning.

It also looks like FPI will want to keep the Hard Rock branding if possible, while Coastal Entertainment would not. At $2.5 million just to use the Hard Rock name, I can’t blame Coastal.

Hard Rock Park Overhaul Details

Mike — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 19:03:27 +0000

While it isn’t certain who the buyer will be, it seems like everybody and their mom have ideas on how to fix Hard Rock Park. Over at Myrtle Beach Online, they have an article with more details about the potential buyers and what some “experts” would do to fix the park. Some ideas include making the park free admission and then pay per ride as well as adding a bunch of new family oriented rides. It was also mentioned that the park should drop the Hard Rock name and try to appeal to all generations, but I think people of all generations eat at Hard Rock Cafe’s all over the world and don’t mind. The awesome thing about Rock ‘N Roll is that it has spanned multiple generations already, and while most young kids won’t understand yet, Mommy and Daddy probably do. I think that the park might be a great way for the rock industry to bring in a new younger generation of fans and so it would be great to get some bands to donate some money or the rights to their music to keep the park operable.

More Details for Hard Rock Park Sale

Mike — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 17:20:29 +0000

Reuters has some updated details about the offer made by FPI MB Entertainment LLC. The group is a consortum of Roundbox Advisors and Freestyle Park International. Roundbox Advisors is a group of local investors from Myrtle Beach and Freestyle Park International is a division of MT Development from Moscow, Russia.

In another interesting development, another bid may be made on the park by a different local group. Mark Lazarus, who owns Wild Water and Wheels in Surfside Beach, said he’s working with a group of investors to prepare a proposal for the park. They would like to open the park in June, but keep management of the park local. They also have stated they would like to keep the music theme going in the park, which is a great idea. We’ll have more information as it becomes available.

Hard Rock Park Sold Finally

Mike — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 16:18:07 +0000

Finally some good news for Hard Rock Park. It was sold, pending approval, to FPI MB Entertainment for $25 million. The new buyers are hoping for a quick sale so they can get the park ready to open by Memorial Day, preferably a soft opening sooner. The buyer is a corporation that was formed in Delaware just a week ago, and details are sparse as to who they consist of. I’m sure more details will follow.