It's official. The "i's" are all dotted and the "t's" crossed. Hard Rock Park has a new owner.
Bankruptcy judge Kevin Carey signed off on the deal Thursday afternoon, that will transfer ownership of the park to a new company called FPI MB Entertainment.
Company officials say they had been looking at buying the park ever since it declared bankruptcy last September.
They say they'll do work on some rides, but the park is in great shape and restaurants and shops simply need to be restocked before opening.
They say they have money set aside to make any necessary changes for this season and a strategy for future years.
There's so much interest in will happen at Hard Rock Park, we decided to spell out in detail just what we know.
Here then is our top ten list of questions and answers about the new Hard Rock Park.
1. Let's start with annual passes. Will those season passes from last year still be good? Yes, they will be honored. Steve Baker, who heads the management team, says they want season ticket holders back.
2. What about ticket prices? General admission, walk-up tickets will cost around $39. Season passes will be $75, half the price from last year.
3. Will there be a parking charge? Probably. "We're pretty sure we're gonna have a parking charge. We're discussing what that charge will be. On the annual passes, it'll be free, of course," said Baker.
4. Will the park add any more rides? Baker says, one of the biggest complaints from last year was that there wasn't enough for kids to do.. So the park will add 3 or 4 new children's rides and update some existing rides to make them more family friendly.
5. Another common complaint was about the former owner's marketing strategy. Baker says the new team will partner with hotels, restaurants, time shares, AAA "anybody and everybody" to market the park.
6. What will be the new park's name? The new owners are working on a deal with Hard Rock Café International to keep the Hard Rock Brand. "We want to keep it a music park, and it would be difficult to overnight not be a Hard Rock Park," said Baker.
7. Will the new owners change the look of the park? They're working on plans that include changes to landscaping, water features and shops.
8. Now, on to employment. Who will they hire? They'll have around 750 to 1,000 employees, young and old, college students, high school kids, Baker says, "anybody who wants to work." Hiring will start around 6 weeks prior to the opening on Memorial Day Weekend.
9. Will there be a preference for former employees? Yes. Baker says they want to hire local and regional people and past employees will be given a good look.
10. Finally, how do you apply for a job at Hard Rock Park? That's what so many people want to know, but it just hasn't been worked out yet. The owners have promised to inform NewsChannel 15 just as soon as they have a hiring plan set up.
When all is said and done, Baker says the new team is determined not to repeat the errors of the former owners. "We're very cognizant of the mistakes that were made and to us they were very basic: not becoming part of the community, not asking for the assistance, not taking advantage of what exists here," said Baker.
Baker says he made up a thick book, several hundred pages, of complaints about the park from patrons and employees.
He gave a copy of the book to everyone on his core team, and told them, here's what we're not going to do.
