It began with such promise, but Hard Rock Park, which opened for business in Myrtle Beach three years ago on April 15th, 2008, quickly went downhill. The park never attracted the crowds predicted by its developers and less than six months after opening, the park's owners filed for bankruptcy.
The amusement park went on the auction block early in 2009, with the new owners, FPI MB Entertainment, purchasing it for $25 million, a fraction of its $400 million construction cost.
The new owners promised lower ticket prices and big changes and for awhile the newly renamed Freestyle Music Park seemed poised for success. But the sluggish economy took its toll and lawsuits from unpaid creditors soon began to pile up. The park closed at the end of the 2009 season and never reopened.
Today, three years after the park's original opening, Freestyle's future remains uncertain. A Facebook page created by former park employees buzzes with speculation about a new owner for the park, but so far, none of the rumors have been confirmed.
Theme park consultant John Bergen of Leisure Business Advisors of Richmond, VA, says the park could still be a viable business, but the state of the economy is holding it back.
"We understand that a number of operators have considered the site, but none have actually acted upon it at this point," Bergen said.
He says the ideal situation would be for an established park operator, like Herschend Family Entertainment, which runs Dollywood Park in Pidgeon Forge, TN and other locations, to take over Freestyle and reestablish it as a workable attraction.
"If you brought in a name, established, respected company that's been involved with similar projects elsewhere then I think that would be a positive sign to the market that this is a different situation than what's occurred."
But Bergen says it would have to happen soon. The deteriorating condition of the rides is a concern, he says, but an even bigger worry is that the longer the park remains closed, the harder it will be to reestablish in the market.
The owner of a frame shop next door to the park remains hopeful. Jeff Rodier, who runs Art and Frame Outlet just across George Bishop Parkway from Freestyle, says his business hasn't suffered because of the park's inactivity, but he and his wife GeAnn got married at the park two years ago and he has fond memories of those exciting times.
"We miss seeing the crowds. We miss hearing, we could hear the roller coaster and the screams and everything. And it was always pretty festive while it was going on, we certainly miss that," Rodier said.
Rodier has a good friend who's a roller coaster enthusiast and has told him the park's signature coaster, the Time Machine, risks serious deterioration, the longer that it's not in operation.
"So at this point, if something doesn't happen soon, going through another year or two of sitting, the coaster could become scrap metal."
Rodier hopes if the park does reopen, it would be geared more toward a local audience than tourists.
What would you like to see in that location? The park reopen? A different attraction? Leave your thoughts below.
