New owner pays $25m for park assets
Hard Rock Park could be open again by the end of May in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. A conglomerate called FPI MB Entertainment has paid $25 million (€20m) for the park’s assets and promised to spend a further $15 million to reopen it for the 2009 season.
Members of FPI MBE include Freestyle Park International, a division of MT Development of Moscow, Roundbox Advisors and a group of local Myrtle Beach area investors, who between them have more than 100 years’ experience in the attractions industry. A well-known theme park management company has been retained to manage the operations of the park.
Another company, Coastal Entertainment, failed to buy the park after submitting a last minute bid.
Hard Rock Park famously closed last September, just five months after it opened. Management said it expected to see about three million guests during the first year, but those forecasts proved unrealistic. When it finally closed, the park’s website thanked the “hundreds of thousands of guests” who visited.
Hard Rock International has already removed some memorabilia from the park, but FPI would like to continue use the Hard Rock brand if a new licence agreement can be reached. If it can’t, then FPI will be forced to destroy any Hard Rock-branded merchandise before the park reopens.
FPI has confirmed that it wants to reopen the park by May 25, and believes it will take about three months to get ready.
