Shout Out :)

Published
by
Asriel
on December 23, 2008
in Uncategorized
. 38 Comments

Whether we want to agree with all the comments in this article or not from various peoples around the beach and further - we gotta give kudos to some of our readers that were quoted in the article!  They can come forward if they want but maybe you might recognize a name or two from the forums or from our get together at the end of the summer (le sigh, the good ‘ol times).

Hard Rock Park, like it or not, was one of a kind

As Hard Rock Park struggles to find a new owner, park groupies are lamenting the loss of what made the park so special to them - that rock ‘n’ roll feeling.

The street performers, award-winning shows, visages of rock legends sculpted on tiki characters and quotes from superstars etched into stone - all a larger-than-life valentine to rock.

“It was top-notch, well-done theming,” said Randy King, 37, of Jasper, Ala. “I did like all the minor details, what they called the ‘riff notes’ all over the park, the humor.”

The theme park, which filed for bankruptcy in September, went on the auction block last week after a disappointing season. It’s unknown whether the Hard Rock theme will survive, but public officials say bidders that have come looking have said the theme would have to go.

The licence for the brand cost the park $2.5 million a year, not including licensing fees demanded by other artists who lent their names to rides and attractions.

Mona Oukada, 19, of Socastee, said she wanted to go to the park - heck, she wanted to work at the park - but gas prices kept her counting her cash closely. Oukada said that though she wasn’t a huge fan of all the music promoted by the park - bands such as Led Zeppelin and The Moody Blues - the rock ‘n’ roll theme seemed cool.

“The whole reason I wanted to go work there was because of the theme,” she said.

Detractors of the park say there were not enough rides and activities for young children - and the theme was not family friendly enough.

The Hamiltons of Carolina Forest said they were so disappointed after visiting they bought season passes to Carowinds.

“We’ve got five kids,” said Paul Hamilton, 39. “It’s got nine bars in there.”

The park did not have enough for his children, ages 2 to 14, to do, he said. And the park’s custom characters - bears - scared the kids.

The park didn’t appeal to John Huntey, 60, of Calabash, N.C.

“Every commercial on TV showed the kids and everybody out of control, instead of everybody just having a nice time,” he said.

Those were common complaints, said Michelle Riggleman, who works at the visitors center at Broadway at the Beach. She said the park appealed more to baby boomers. “The younger people didn’t seem to know all of that nostalgia,” she said.

For others, Hard Rock or not, the park was a good time.

“I didn’t really care about the theming so much but I enjoyed the park for its own sake,” said Jim Fields, 69, of Myrtle Beach. “The theme really didn’t mean anything one way or the other.”

Even for the die-hards who hope the unique theme stays, there’s one thing that’s for sure - they don’t want a generic park.

“That’s what sets it apart from Family Kingdom and Carowinds and Dollywood, because it’s Hard Rock Park,” King said. “It’s the only one. I wouldn’t want it to become just another amusement park.”

No Bidders For Hard Rock Park

Published
by
Chris
on December 19, 2008
in Park News
. 11 Comments

The bidding for Hard Rock Park has ended and there was no one willing to pay the $35 million dollar amount for the park. PARC Management who recently purchased Myrtle Waves and Nascar Speedpark has shown interest in the park and has even asked to city for help. Myrtle Beach quickly denied the offer and has no interest in spending any money on the park.

So the waiting continues. What will be the ultimate fate of the park? Will the rides be sold and taken away? Or will someone come in and try to re-open the park in the 2009 season? We hope to see the park open again even if under a different name.

Just waiting…

Published
by
Asriel
on December 18, 2008
in General
. 12 Comments

The Sun News:

The new owner of Hard Rock Park is expected to be introduced today to the public.

A Delaware court judge is slated to rule on the results of an auction that took place Monday. The $400 million, 55- acre rock ‘n’ roll theme park filed for bankruptcy in September, five months after opening. Several potential buyers had visited Myrtle Beach to check out the park and the region.

Auction Taking Place Dec 15th

Published
by
Chris
on December 11, 2008
in Park News
. 8 Comments

HRP as you know is on the auction block beginning on Monday. According to Myrtle Beach Online there are a some interested companies looking at the park:

Representatives from at least two companies or groups of investors have toured the park, including one on Thursday out of Texas, Myrtle Beach Mayor John Rhodes said.

The park is set to go on the auction block Dec. 15 for a minimum price of $35 million, and starting bids are due Friday. The park, which licensed the Hard Rock brand name from the international restaurant, casino and hotel company, opened in April but closed and filed for Chapter 11 in September after a disappointing season.

We will keep you up to date on the auction as soon as we hear anything!

Park Owes Lots Of Money

Published
by
Chris
on December 11, 2008
in Park News and Uncategorized
. 3 Comments

A new article by Lisa Fleisher has some numbers along with the local business that are effected by HRP closing and filing for bankruptcy:

Lane’s Professional Pest Elimination $9,000
Rock Star Taxi $2,300
Sheraton Myrtle Beach $60,000

What The Park May Be Worth On the auction block?

For example, the documents list the cost of licensing software and using marquee names such as Led Zeppelin, The Moody Blues and Hard Rock at more than $10 million.

The looping rides, roller coasters and play areas are worth about $48 million, according to the park’s accounting.
“”The thing you’re not going to be able to get here is the ability to evaluate whether or not the park will succeed going forward with a new owner, which I suspect everybody in Myrtle Beach is ultimately concerned about,” said Michael Dickey, an assistant professor at the Charleston School of Law.

The financial details of the park’s daily operations are available to potential bidders, who must sign confidentiality agreements, according to the terms of the auction approved by a Delaware bankruptcy judge.”

For more information check out Myrtle Beach Online.

UPDATE: Auction Prices - Got $35 million?

Published
by
Asriel
on November 15, 2008
in Uncategorized
. 61 Comments

So the most recent news to hit us since Hard Rock Park filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy?  The Sun News is reporting December 15th is auction day for the park.  Starting price? $35 million dollars with a 10% cash down payment.

The 55-acre park, which opened in April and closed in Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September, is looking to sell off its assets - either in whole or part by part - and is accepting bids up until Dec. 12.

Qualified bidders must show they can meet the minimum $35 million price, put up 10 percent of that as cash, and prove they have enough money and experience to run the business, according to court documents filed in Delaware bankruptcy court.

I find that just because you have $3.5 million dollars doesn’t necessarily suggest you have sufficient experience to run the park, as we have so obviously seen, but who am I to judge?  Let’s just hope that the party responsible for determining sufficient experience knows what they are doing and whoever finally wins the bid to purchase the park will make it something for Myrtle Beach to be proud of.  Want to read more? Check out The Sun New’s Saturday newspaper. 

To read The Sun New’s full Saturday story please click here.

For Sale

Published
by
Asriel
on November 1, 2008
in General
. 33 Comments

As some of our readers already know - its official: Hard Rock Park has been put up for sale.  As the Sun News and other sites are reporting:

Hard Rock Park is for sale.

The 55-acre, $400 million theme park, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September, wants to sell itself by the end of 2008, according to court papers filed this week.

It also has asked a judge to allow it to make severance payments of a total of almost a quarter of a million dollars to nine of its top executives, according to court papers filed this week.

The roughly 75 of the 2,000 employees kept on at the park after it declared bankruptcy are still there, park spokesman Jim Olecki said.

The park will not reopen in 2009 if it does not find a buyer, he said.

Creditors have until Nov. 13 to file objections, and a judge is set to rule on the issue on Nov. 20, according to court papers.

Olecki said he could not say whether the park is in talks with buyers or what the price tag is. The park still aims to reopen, albeit under new ownership, in 2009, he said.

“I believe there’s confidence, some level of confidence, that a buyer will be found,” he said.

There was mixed opinion among some in the amusement industry whether the park would be able to find a buyer.

“There’s always people looking to buy, if the price is right,” said Jerry Aldrich, general manager of Amusement Industry Consulting. “You or I would, if the deal is good enough.”

But it could be tough these days to find someone willing and able to make a purchase, said Gary Slade, editor and publisher of Amusement Today.

“I don’t know, with the economy right now, it’s not the right time to be selling a theme park,” he said.

The park shouldn’t look for Burroughs & Chapin Co. Inc., one of the area’s largest companies, to make a bid.

“Burroughs & Chapin has no interest in purchasing Hard Rock Park,” Lei Gainer, a spokeswoman for the company, wrote in an e-mail. “The park represents a substantial investment in our community, and we are hopeful that it will re-open in 2009 with great success.”

The park is asking a bankruptcy judge for permission to pay about $223,000 to nine of its top executives.

The park also stated in the filing that the executives are contractually owed up to $270,835 each, though it said the law only allows them to potentially receive up to 10 times what a nonmanagement employee made. Employees not in management got an average severance payment of $2,483, according to an affidavit from Steven Goodwin, the park’s chief executive officer.

“Certain of the debtors management employees have understandably expressed concern regarding their future employment,” the court filing states. “The contractual severance payments, and indeed the severance program generally, are intended to mitigate these concerns and prevent employee attrition during this critical period in the debtors bankruptcy cases.”

In Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a judge must approve all transactions.

The park, which opened in April, entered bankruptcy protection in September after a disappointing debut season. The park said in its filings that attendance never met its mark because of general economic conditions, as well as the park’s lack of funding for marketing.

 

Here is a list of the severance pay the executives had written into their contracts, not including money for unused vacation days, according to the court filing:

chief creative officer | $270,835
chief executive officer and chief financial officer | $270,835
president and chief operating officer | $270,835
senior vice president and general counsel | $125,000
senior vice president of finance | $43,750
senior vice president of park operations | $37,500
vice president, human resources | $32,500
vice president, park operations | $28,750
vice president, revenue operations | $10,834

This story has been corrected from an earlier version. The park outlined what it would owe the executives under contract and is asking the judge to allow payments totaling a maximum of $223,420.

Results of Court Hearing

Published
by
Asriel
on October 24, 2008
in General
. 25 Comments

The Sun News is reporting the results of Wednesday’s court hearing:

Judge OKs Hard Rock to borrow more

A Delaware bankruptcy judge signed orders Wednesday allowing Hard Rock Park to borrow an additional $1 million, hire lawyers and delay filing financial information until Nov. 18.

The park shut down and filed for bankruptcy protection in September after opening in April.

The judge had previously allowed the park to borrow up to $1 million. The financing is in place through Oct. 31, by which time the park has said it will decide whether to sell itself, or reorganize and reopen.

So D-day is quickly approaching…

The missing piece of the puzzle: Marketing

Published
by
Asriel
on October 19, 2008
in General and Uncategorized
. 13 Comments

The Sun News came out with an extensive article today on all things marketing for Hard Rock Park - from what Kerry Graves said their initial marketing plan would be (no comment there…), what local businesses thought of their marketing plan, to what local experts think the park will have to do to make their second season more successful than the first.  Some highlights of the article include:

Hard Rock Park needs to go on a $10 million to $40 million advertising spree if it wants a chance at making its second season successful, local marketing experts said.

It is unclear whether the shuttered $400 million theme park, which filed for bankruptcy in September after being open for six months, will be able to raise those types of funds. The park did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

In court papers, the park said its inability “to engage in effective out-of-market advertising was particularly devastating” and, along with general economic malaise, was why the park failed. Now, the park plans to “develop a marketing campaign that will position them properly for the reopening” in 2009.

Now, the park is reorganizing under Chapter 11, which holds creditors at bay and buys time for businesses to sort out financial problems. A Delaware bankruptcy court judge has allowed the park to borrow an additional $1 million, while an additional million could be approved at a hearing Wednesday. The park has until Oct. 31 to explain to the court how it plans to reorganize.

But the bank that holds most of the park’s debt, Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, has slammed the park’s plans for the future, threatening to force the park into Chapter 7 bankruptcy if it does not put itself up for sale.

In court papers filed last week, the bank criticized the park for asking for permission to hire eight law firms and an accounting firm, calling the move “blatantly excessive,” considering “there is no realistic prospect for a successful reorganization.”

Besides spending tens of millions on ads, experts said the park needs to do more grassroots marketing by aggressively reaching out to people in and around the Myrtle Beach community, such as politicians, church leaders, the media and community leaders, experts said.

This is a terrific article and we encourage all of you to read it in length.  It brings out points that many of you have made over the past year and yet still leaves room for hope.  The closing point:

Word-of-mouth reputation is, perhaps, the most important beast to tame, experts said. The park needs locals and visitors to be able to promote the park when newcomers ask about it.

“What’s the answer going to be?” Murdy said. “The answer should be, ‘Wow, it was a great experience. They had some financial difficulties, but I can’t wait until they open in the spring.’”

And that is what we have been saying all along.

Courts Ruling for Passholder Extension

Published
by
Asriel
on September 30, 2008
in General and Park News
. 13 Comments

Hard Rock Park has just released the following:

Hard Rock Park is pleased to announce that we have received Bankruptcy Court approval to offer our Annual and Season Pass Holders a six-month extension. In addition, anyone still holding unused tickets to the Park will be able to exchange their unused tickets for a 2009 ticket in the near future. Unfortunately, the approval of refunds is not permitted by the Bankruptcy Court at this time.
 
We would also like to thank our guests and the local community in Myrtle Beach for their ongoing support and loyalty; and we will remain focused on delivering a first class entertainment experience to all future visitors of the Park.

While many passholders are sad about the park filing Chapter 11 and closing for the season we know many people were concerned about this as well.  Its good to see that the courts showed favor to not only Hard Rock Park but also their many passholders as well!