Hard Rock Park draws bidders to tour area

At least people are looking...

potential government incentives

Not sure what to think about this. On one hand the area can't let that space go unused and abandoned. On the other, they can't give so much away that they get nothing back.

^ No kidding. Private investors looking for government help before they even make the investment. I know it's not unheard of, (cough DCA cough) but with the economy in the dumper, how much do they think they are going to be able to get, even if it all comes from rezoning? I doubt this sale will fetch even a third of the near 400 million investment, so they'd be looking to pick up the property for way below it's value, that should be good enough.

>Private investors looking for government help before they even make the investment

That's just business, you need to know the whole story to make the best decision. If you were buying a car do you just buy it because it's on sale, or do you look around for financing options or other funding/rebates/discounts from the manufacturer? You try to get the best deal you can.

Plus we don't know who is looking, if Cedar Fair is looking they could be looking to dismantle and move the coasters to some of their other parks? OR, if they could get the right incentive package (perhaps including some long term state/local busines development loans that let them refinance some of their other debt - it could become attractive.

I don't know if Cedar Fair is looking, this is pure speculation, not rumor worthy, just thinking what they might look for if they were.

Turning $400M into $40M in about two years' time....they woulda done better on Wall Street. Still can't help but think that someone could get an incredible bargain on this place (assuming it's sold as a unit, that the new owners get around paying licensing/roaylties, and that they are able to survive this one bad year coming up). If the place opens and runs in 2010, it could be really hopping....and highly profitable.

"Government incentives" at the local level are the reason that businesses decide to set up shop all over the place. They offer tax abatement on property but can make a great deal on income tax. That's just normal suburban economic development.

...And Hard Rock Park presents a unique opportunity as there is a significant chunk of ground surrounding that park that is probably part of the deal, that is just begging for development. Making sure that the local governments are willing to play ball is going to be key for anybody who wants to make a go of it. And it may not even be tax incentives. Cooperation on zoning and improvements to the surrounding infrastructure would go a very long way...

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

^Didn't Dollywood garner some significant infrastructure improvements to the local roads by playing politics a couple years back? Been too long since I saw their place....*sigh*. MiA got some water deal, PKI did some wrangling with public transportation, who knows what kind of deal CF will "extort" out of the NorCal park. Failing to play the game of "what'll give me if I create some jobs" is one of the 21st century's greatest forms of boardroom negligence... ;)

I guess what I should have said is that I'm surprised this didn't happen before HRP started in the first place. Just another mistake by the original investors.

I'm just sayin' that I think they're already getting (probably) a serious bargain. BTW, where's my government bailout?

Gator,

They promis to create jobs, but it only works for a year or two, plus, it's mostly low-paying service jobs.