Hard Rock / Freestyle Music Park Discussion Thread

[SharkTums]

^Not 'officially', but we've got some other awesome itineraries that we're going to let our participants vote on!

 

In fact, we've had a post about this since the trip boards started as this is really no surprise to anyone.

[kidcoaster 2]

 

As for your statement on how we have to 'do something before all the parks are gone'...come on, that's a little too much drama!!!

 

Well true I guess they all won't be all gone but it is always good to help what we can....

 

^ So can I assume Six Flags Over Georgia is one of those options???

Edited March 31, 2010 by kidcoaster 2

[SharkTums]

^I think we just have to agree to disagree. It's clear from where you work, your avatar, your signature, etc. that you're REALLY into preserving EVERYTHING...even stuff that probably doesn't or shouldn't be preserved. That's fine! I'm not going to stop in your way or pull your threads about saving random coasters, but you also have to respect my opinion that not everything will be saved and that's quite alright too.

 

Thanks!

[kidcoaster 2]

^ Ok agreed

 

Curious did HRP/FSMP have any upcharge attractions?

[SharkTums]

^I want to say the kiddie ropes course? But I'm not sure on that one.

[jedimaster1227]

^^At least when it was Freestyle Music Park, the ropes course was free. I don't believe there was any specific attraction that was upcharge during the Freestyle Music Park season...

[OldJJman]

It's been a bit disheartening to read the last few pages here.

 

Some people think that there are those here that start gloating when a park fails. While that may be true in a select few cases, I don't think it's the majority here. (I think Elissa's BP may have gone up a point or two today in this thread alone!)

 

Bottom line is: Robb, Elissa, myself, and MANY others said BEFORE HRP opened, it would fail. We all knew that the demographics WOULD NOT support a park of this size, especially this large and ambitious.

 

The artist's rendition of the proposed park was way over the top. When the park opened, and came no where close to what had been proposed, with an outrageous gate fee (on top of VERY unrealistic expectations) there was no way it could, or would survive.

 

I never made it there. But those that had, brought back very dismal reports. Not so much about the rides package (which is lacking), but the attitude of the management at the time. They knew everything, and a consumer - was just more $$ at the gate, not a voice to listen to. The opinions of those guests were tossed in favor of the vast superior knowledge of the management team, who, in their arrogance, got what they deserved - a failed park.

 

Twice.

 

 

I'm just saying "We told you so"!

 

 

JJ

[jray21]

On a much much smaller scale, the same was true for the Nut Tree Family Park in Vacaville, CA. They hyped it up so much in our area, but when it finally opened it was a failure. I don't even know if it lasted one year. It was very expensive, with not that much. Management was arrogant, and everything was overhyped. I never made it to HR/FMP, but almost everyone I had heard from who had gone, gave the same over-priced, over-hyped, reviews. Who knows, maybe they will learn from this and make a better park the next time around.

 

Ok, maybe not.

[Airtime&Gravity]

No surprise here:

 

MYRTLE BEACH-There are no plans to re-open Freestyle Music Park according to attorney David Slough with Nexson Pruet Law Firm who is representing the park.

 

Slough also said the park still owes $570,000 in debt from when they took it over from the former owners, Hard Rock Park.

 

He said Thursday that according to a court order, the payment had to be made on or before April 1. If that payment was not made then the trustee’s attorney can file an affidavit with a bankruptcy court certifying that the payment has not been made. After that, the bankruptcy judge will enter a judgment against the park.

 

“Currently we have no ability to make the payment, “said Slough, “But the park is working on this.”

 

Slough said that the park is currently working on finding investors.

 

Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce president Brad Dean told News 13 Tuesday that Freestyle Park was not included in the chamber’s 2010 advertising campaign.

 

Stay with News 13 as we continue to follow this developing story.

 

 

Link

[nitrofan]

^ Ok agreed

 

Curious did HRP/FSMP have any upcharge attractions?

 

Nothing was an upcharge, including the rock wall and rope courses. They did have ride lockers on some rides, but they really didn't enforce the policy.

[Six Flags Enthuseast]

This is pretty sad to hear, although I'm not really surprised.

[jedimaster1227]

http://www.thesunnews.com/2010/04/02/1400058/park-misses-deadline.html

 

Freestyle Music Park missed its deadline Thursday to pay off a $570,000 debt, according to a park attorney, bringing creditors one step closer to possibly foreclosing on the park. "Currently, the park has no ability to make the payment," said David Slough, a lawyer with Nexsen Pruet who represents the park. "They're working on this like they're working on all their payment obligation."

 

Freestyle inherited the debt when it bought Hard Rock Park out of bankruptcy last year. Fred Giuliano, the trustee appointed by a Delaware bankruptcy court to oversee Hard Rock's case, confirmed that he had not received the payment.

 

A bankruptcy court judge previously ruled that Freestyle had until Thursday to pay the debt, the second extension. Giuliano said the Hard Rock parties will receive a judgment in their favor, but he would consult with his attorney before deciding what further action to take.

 

The park doesn't plan to open for the 2010 season, unless a deal with new investors can be finalized, Slough said earlier this week. Steve Baker, president of FPI MB Entertainment, the owner of the park, declined to comment , citing a non-disclosure statement.

 

Park owners have been courting investors since September, when the park closed for the off-season after a disappointing debut summer. The park also owes money to many of the companies that provided services for the park.

 

Freestyle could react to a judgment in several ways, said Allen Jeffcoat, a Myrtle Beach attorney who specializes in bankruptcy and foreclosure.

If the park does nothing, creditors will eventually foreclose and repossess the property, said Jeffcoat, who is not affiliated with the case. "Even if Freestyle just rolls over and plays dead, which they're not likely to do, but even if they did that, the creditor is going to have to take additional steps," he said. To stave off creditors, the park could choose to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as it continues to look for investors or look for someone to buy the park, Jeffcoat said. Chapter 7 bankruptcy would also allow them to sell the park, he said. Should Freestyle obtain investors and operate a profitable season, it's possible the park could begin to pay creditors and retain ownership of the park, he said.

 

The odds of the park reopening and paying off creditors are low, said Mark Neill, an attorney for one of the companies Freestyle owes money to, Quantum Communications Corp. of Myrtle Beach and Florence. The company filed suit in October to recover about $27,000 in unpaid debts from Freestyle and is awaiting a judgment in Horry County Circuit Court. After receiving a judgment, Quantum plans to put a lien on the park, which will increase the chance of the company being paid, Neill said, although other creditors may have higher priority. Jimmy Feuger, general manager at Quantum of Myrtle Beach, said he does not think he will see the money again. "If they declare bankruptcy then we get in line behind all the creditors and we're probably not going to get anything," he said. "I've kind of written off the money." Freestyle had placed ads on several of Quantum's radio stations, but after 90 days had failed to pay, Feuger said. The money doesn't represent much of his business, but it is the largest sum he's been owed, he said.

 

Matt Doda, a member of alternative rock cover bank Willhite, is still owed $9,300 for performing at the park last year and doesn't think he'll ever be paid, he said "We're in our early-mid-20s; that chunk of change is huge," he said. "We've been playing catch-up the last six to eight months."

Willhite has not filed a suit against Freestyle, he said. "The way we're thinking about it, if they do file bankruptcy we'd be wasting our money filing a lawsuit," Doda said. "We're the smallest company out of all of the companies owed money."

[darienlakerules]

darn shame what happened to the park. I wish I could've gone. I think if universal had done this is the first place, better location, attached hotel, and a bigger "star-attraction" this would have been a hit.

[themeparkman25]

Deleted by author

Edited January 20, 2011 by themeparkman25

[darienlakerules]

darn shame what happened to the park. I wish I could've gone. I think if universal had done this is the first place, and picked a better location, better location and a better location this would have been a hit"

 

Fixed.

 

Correct me if I am wrong, but numerous of Universal execs left their jobs at Universal to work on this park and start it. Hence why it had an IOA feel to it.

lol, actually i think they did.

[Sir Clinksalot]

Wow, didn't see this one coming.

[Swiminn6]

I was just in Myrtle Beach for spring break and checked out the area of the park. I got some pictures of the coaster and I'll post them later. It's so sad to see that beautiful park closed. The whole area around it was basically a ghost town and there is shrubbery and weeds growing everywhere.

 

It killed me to be that close to a park with a major coaster and not being able to ride it!

[HowieP]

If FMP doesn't ever open again, let's just pray that the rides will be saved and not scrapped, especially the B&M coaster.

[Swiminn6]

If FMP doesn't ever open again, let's just pray that the rides will be saved and not scrapped, especially the B&M coaster.

 

Exactly my thoughts. They should find room and move it to Family Kingdom, just a few miles away!

[jedimaster1227]

http://www.wmbfnews.com/Global/story.asp?S=12529537

 

Sunday marks one year since Freestyle Music Park first opened their doors, now businesses who counted on the park for customers are having to deal with an empty lot.

 

Ads for the theme park blanketed the Grand Strand for months but now that park sits empty as lawyers for the company and creditors face a debacle over the park's financial issues.

 

"It's obviously affected us a little bit" said Jessica Schoener, who manages the Holiday Inn near the park. Other hotels near the park report a drop in business but nothing catastrophic as some had feared when news of the park's closing first surfaced.

 

"They did a fair amount of advertising with us, but we just couldn't seem to draw them in" said Joseph Egbert, a hotel clerk at America's Best Value Inn off of Highway 501.

 

The park was re branded from Hard Rock Park into the more family themed music venue. In March, the park confirmed it would be unable to open for the 2010 season due to a lack of investors.

[nitrofan]

I think that their attendance could have been way up this year. I am a little over an hour away from FMP and very few people knew what FMP is last summer. If they put their ticket prices around $20, I know a lot of people who would have gone to the park this year that didn't know it existed. I have been in Myrtle Beach twice since the proposed 2010 opening day when I would have gone to the park if they were open. I think their problem was just a lack of advertising to semi-locals.

 

I hope something can be worked out and this park saved. I'm not too optomistic though.

[disneyfan1313]

^ No. If they priced the park at $20 they would not have survived. A park *that big* can not support the infrastructure that it requires with $20 admission. Unless you are charging $40 for hot dogs...

 

It really just comes down to location and the amount of capital spent on the park... it was doomed to fail from the beginning. Everyone in the industry said it would - the numbers the location and the demographics said it would... The only people that thought it would succeed were those so blinded by imaginary dollar signs before their eyes that they would believe anything.

[808Freq]

What is going to happen to the B&M? I could care less about the crappy premier

[COASTER FREAK 11]

^The rides will most likely be sold off to help pay for the parks debt, if it doesn't reopen...which it probably never will. I doubt the coaters will be scrapped, they are all good rides and are pretty much brand new.

[braztaz]

Man, I liked this park. It was just unknown to the public basically. But of course I'm stating what's been said a hundred times before.