Some surprisingly good news that might….just might resurrect the ‘Park formerly know as Hard Rock!” This would be such great news for the people of Myrtle…visitors to Myrtle and this suffering economy in general. It is so depressing to drive on the 501 over the ICW and see that entire area just slipping into wasteland!
News - Local Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2009 Hard Rock Park finds buyer for $25 million.
Hard Rock Park may not be quiet for much longer.
According to bankruptcy court documents filed today, the rock 'n' roll theme park has found a buyer, willing to pay $25 million for the property, as is. The park's purchaser, FPI MB Entertainment, has put down a $2.3 million down payment and is hoping to close the sale quickly, by Feb. 20 if possible. According to the asset purchase agreement, the price will go down $1 million if the sale isn't completed by Feb. 20 and will continue to drop $50,000 for each day after Feb. 20 until the sale is closed. By Tom Murray / tmurray@thesunnews.com * Gallery Available Hard Rock Park Timeline * Read the motion to sell Hard Rock Park * External Link Full coverage of Hard Rock Park The new buyers are hoping to reopen the park quickly. The reason for the quick sale, according to the court documents, is that the buyers are hoping to reopen the park's gates in a soft opening prior to Memorial Day -- with a full opening that weekend. The sale must still be approved by the bankruptcy court at a sale approval hearing Feb. 17. Horry County Council Chairwoman Liz Gilland said a group of individuals were behind FPI, though she declined to say whether any were local or whether she knew any of them prior to the court documents being filed. The corporation was created on Feb. 4 in Delaware, according to the Web site of that state's division of corporations. It is registered to The Corporation Trust Co. in Wilmington, Del., a firm that helps businesses legally form corporations. Gilland said she did not know all the people involved in the corporation and declined to say whether any had prior theme park management experience. Gilland also said there had been informal discussions regarding assistance from the county and the state, though there had been no formal request so far. She said the county did not play a role in locating the buyers. "Because of the economy, this is even going to be better news than it would have been without the economy being so bad," Gilland said. "I feel like this will be a shot -- just a real boost from a whole lot of perspectives. And that's everything from jobs to tourism and all the related businesses." Gilland said she was confident the company would learn from the mistakes of the previous managers and make the park successful financially. She said it would have been dreadful had the park remained closed and its assets been sold off piecemeal. "That is a real negative for the word to get out that maybe Myrtle Beach couldn't sustain a theme park, which would discourage anybody for years to come," she said. "To come back in and bring back to life what has died such an untimely, early death in a sense would be just tremendous PR for the beach as well as a huge boost for tourism." More details will be posted as they become available.
This story courtesy The Myrtle Beach Sun News – your local source for all the news that is Myrtle!
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