Some time back, I wrote about the newly opened Hard Rock Park in Myrtle Beach, SC being shuttered after filing for bankruptcy. At that time they said they were hopeful of re-opening next year.

Tell you the truth, I was kinda hoping they would, since HRP is one of the most innovative and exciting theme parks which is way different from the standard kitschy fare on offer at the Disney Parks.

Well, now it seems all that was a pipedream, since  the world’s first Rock n’Roll theme park is up for sale. There’s no update on the HRP website, but Chicago Tribune report says that the park is up for sale, and won’t reopen if they don’t find a buyer.

The monumental screwup of the park’s management can be judged from the fact that it took 7 years of planning and $400 million before the park opened in April, and it took only 6 months for them to decide it was a failure and had to be closed down.

It was expected to be a big hit, and from the initial media hype during the opening, it did look like they might be able to hit the projected turnout of 3 million visitors a year. This would even have given a major boost to the Myrtle Beach hotels in the vicinity, not to mention an overall pickup in tourism revenue.

But the park is citing dismal conditions in the overal economy as a major factor for being unable to attract as many visitors as expected, rather than any problems with the park itself. No word on how much HRP Myrtle Beach Holdings LLC, which owns the park, expects to get from the sale of the park. 

Photo by scmikeburton via flickr (creative commons).

Posted on November 2nd, 2008 by Thomas
Filed under: News