Hard Rock Park for sale

Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place.

That sucks, but I am not surprised. :(

It's such a kickass park. I am glad I got to see it! It was well worth the trip!

-Tina

Just finished getting my Hard Rock Park pics online (shameless plug) and still can't believe the park crashed and burned like it did.

Happier than ever that we decided to trek down to MB and check it out. Still think that if given the chance to find its audience, this park could be wildly successful.

I agree. ;)

Crashmando said:
Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place.

*claps* Good one!

It IS surprising how fast HRP went down. It still seems like there's potential there, though. Wonder if it can be made to work out?

Let's see. Who could buy the park?

The Herschend group: Nope, they just closed one.

Six Flags: Nope, they're looking chapter 11.

CF: Unlikely, not wanting to increase their debt load.

Disney: Maybe.

Maybe it'll just get relocated to Dubai. They have the cash.

PS. Nice pics, Lord G.

PARC? It doesn't sound like the kind of park they are ordinarily interested in, but who knows.

Since when is Six Flags declaring bankruptcy?

Maybe Warrren Buffet wants to diversify his reach a bit more. Heck, I think the "Donald" needs a new spot for his next "Apprentice"

FLYINGSCOOTER said:
Let's see. Who could buy the park?

Six Flags: Nope, they're looking chapter 11.

I think what he's saying here is that SF is looking like a Chapter 11 may be their only option, not that they have already declared a bankruptcy.

I think CF might be able to pull it off. They could easily cross-market the park with Carowinds and sell two-park gold passes.

Plus if they end up selling CGA that could provide most if not all of the funds to purchase HRP.

I would be surprised if CF tried---I missed the last conference call, but it seems like they are still struggling with the Paramount assimilation, not yet having realized the cost savings they expected.

Another note: for anyone to pull this off, they might need the cash on hand. Getting financing right now is very very difficult, especially to buy a failed business.

Let's see. Who could buy the park?

This is easy...the guy that started Wild West World!

Coaster_Lizard said:

FLYINGSCOOTER said:
Let's see. Who could buy the park?

Six Flags: Nope, they're looking chapter 11.

I think what he's saying here is that SF is looking like a Chapter 11 may be their only option, not that they have already declared a bankruptcy.

Thanks, that's exactly what I meant.

The problem is where the park is located. From a lot of places like nyc you can only get a direct flight from spirit. Most other airlines have like 3 layovers to get to myrtle beach.

Driving down there is not worth it.

Thats the ;problem with the park is that its not easy to get to.

You do know that Myrtle Beach draws 13-14M tourists per year, right?

That's impossible! It is so hard to get to and no one knows where it is! :)

Wait. What are we talking about again?

I wouldn't expect this park to be bought by any of the major park operators. Perhaps some private equity concern or something. Actually, NBC/Universal would be a good fit, but rumor has it that they are still trying to decide if they really want to be in the park business.

I think the park really needs to figure out what kind of a park it *really* is. What is the intended appeal of the park, what is the scope of the park supposed to be, and mot important, how do you communicate that message to the millions of tourists in Myrtle Beach? The Hard Rock brand doesn't do it, and if you try to use the Hard Rock brand exclusively to identify the park, you really chop down the audience unnecessarily. It's not that it's a bad brand (quite the contrary...) but for people not familiar with the Hard Rock brand, "Hard Rock" has a particular connotation that excludes about 80% of all rock and roll fans. And I don't think that's quite what they had in mind!

So the park needs to find its identity, and it needs to push that identity to its potential customer base. It wil; be interesting to see how this one plays out.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.