Hard Rock Park up for sale after inaugural Season

[sir clinksalot]

Looks like it was "A Hard Days Night" for the inaugural season of Hard Rock Park located in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The park was put up for sale last week, perhaps they didn't get enough "Tickets to Ride"?

Hopefully the park will get bought up by another amusement enterprise and won't be "Livin' on a Prayer" in the coming years or left to become "Dust in the Wind".

Not sure what this means for the proposed "Hard Rock" park in Garden Grove.

The Associated Press: We ain't foolin': Hard Rock Park is for sale

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Life in the fast lane apparently was too much for Hard Rock Park. Six months after opening, the only major U.S. theme park to open in the last decade is for sale.

Spokesman Jim Olecki said Friday the $400 million Myrtle Beach park celebrating rock 'n' roll couldn't cope with less-than-expected attendance and a faltering economy.

The park opened in April after seven years of planning, with roller coasters based on Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" and the Eagles' "Life in the Fast Lane." It filed for bankruptcy protection in September.

Olecki said owners hope a buyer can be found by the end of the year and the park can reopen in 2009. However, Hard Rock Park won't open if it's not sold, Olecki said.

He said he could not could not say if park owners were in contact with a prospective buyer or how much the attraction would cost.

The park's creditors must file any objections to the sale by Nov. 13, according to court documents filed Friday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware.

Olecki has said the park didn't have enough money for promotion when it opened and the credit crisis made it impossible to get more.

The park had projected attracting about 30,000 people a day and 3 million a year. Olecki did not immediately have attendance figures for the past six months.

The guest satisfaction levels were strong, according to the debtors' court filing, but "overall attendance at the Park was lower than expected, primarily as a result of macroeconomic conditions that significantly depressed overall demand in the travel and leisure industry."

Owned by HRP Myrtle Beach Holdings Llc, the park isn't affiliated directly with Hard Rock Cafe International Inc.

[TP2000]

Hard Rock Park in Garden Grove?! HA! Was that going to be next to the 75,000 seat NFL Stadium, the Venetian Canals with singing gondoliers, the outdoor concert amphitheater, the Steve Wynn operated Indian Casino, and the movie studios theme park that were also announced by the delusional Garden Grove City Council?

In short, what didn't the Garden Grove City Council announce was coming to the city back in 2002-06 before they finally embarassed themselves enough to finally learn to shut up and focus on fixing potholes?

I'd forgotten about the Garden Grove Pie In The Sky Plans of earlier this decade. Thanks for the laugh and the memories!

[Coast21]

I've lived in Garden Grove for over 15 years, where would they put this proposed park?

Oh and I hope they find a buyer, this park looked like it has some promise.

[TP2000]

Here's a hilarious two year old OC Register article about the Garden Grove theme parks (yeah, they wanted to build two of them). News: Garden Grove seeks theme-park investors - OCRegister.com

[kcnole]

I still can't believe they opened a park and didn't have a plan to weather at least 3 years of losses. That has to be the single most mis-managed park ever. Certainly they probably didn't expect the credit meltdown and so maybe they just can't find the credit to keep the place open, but this is laughable. They didn't even finish one year.