The bankrupt Hard Rock Park has a pulse, and there are signs it could come back to life very soon.
One potential buyer emerged Tuesday, and now other investors are showing interest.
Some of the investors are local, others from as far away as Russia, but the big question is, "Could any buyer reopen the park in time for this year's tourist season?"
Just when it looked like no one wanted to buy Hard Rock Park, potential buyers are popping up all over.
A new firm called FPI MB Entertainment has submitted a $25 million dollar bid, with a hearing on the sale scheduled for February 17th.
Who is FPI? A statement from the company says the investors include MT Development of Moscow, Roundbox Advisors, which has an Orlando address, and some Myrtle Beach area investors.
But wait, there's more.
Mark Lazarus, who owns a local water park, told NewsChannel 15 he's working with another group of investors who also want to bid on the park.
He says they would keep it music-themed, though without the steep royalties that go with the Hard Rock name.
No matter who ends up with it, tourism leaders say reopening the park would be a huge mountain to climb.
"The first of which is to purchase the park and invest whatever they need to make it a viable attraction. Most of us had written it off for 2009 but at least some of the potential owners think they could make a run out of it this year," said Brad Dean, president of the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce.
Others say re-opening the park would give the area a huge psychological lift.
"We really got sort of a black eye in the media when it folded up, and we need to correct that and get something positive out of it," said Myrtle Beach mayor John Rhodes.
Everyone agrees, however, the new owners would have do things differently.
"You've got to set the price at a reasonable level that families and local residents can afford. Secondly, it's not a build it and they will come. You've got to market it effectively," said Dean.
Finally, Dean says the owners have to work with the whole community, marketing the park with local hotels and restaurants.
That's something he says the previous owners didn't do very well.
The $25 million bid is about 6% of what it cost to build the park, which was $400 million.
