Saturday, Oct. 03, 2009

Freestyle Music Park ducks seasonal scares

Freestyle Music Park isn't dressing up for Halloween this year.

Other amusement parks along the East Coast just started up annual Halloween events, but people looking for a frightening roller coaster ride in Myrtle Beach will have to wait.

"I think it would've been a very challenging situation [to host Halloween events], because when you do events, you want to do them right. You want to offer something that's unique and different and give people a reason to come out," said John Stine, director of sales and marketing for Freestyle Music Park. "We just felt that it was in everyone's best interest to put a cap on the season in the middle of September."

He said the park - which finished its inaugural season Sept. 13 - will be in a much better position to expand its offseason offerings next year.

The 55-acre park opened in May after FPI MB Entertainment purchased the bankrupt Hard Rock Park for $25 million in February. In recent months, various companies and financial groups have filed lawsuits against the park for unpaid bills, but Freestyle Music Park officials say they're planning to pay everyone.

Universal Studios in Orlando, Fla., kicked off its Halloween festivities last weekend, featuring eight haunted houses, six "scarezones" and two live shows, all inspired by blockbuster horror films.

Visitors can also be trapped by the "Saw" serial killer Jigsaw, come face-to-fangs with "The Wolfman" and be chased by the twisted "Chucky" doll, officials say.

Charlotte, N.C.'s Carowinds has transformed into SCarowinds for the next month, featuring 15 open rides, several "scarezones" and mazes and a film titled "The Haunted Homecoming."

B&C looks for CEO

Burroughs & Chapin Co. Inc., one of the most influential companies along the Grand Strand, is still searching for a new chief executive.

The company is considering candidates and is on track to announce a new president in early 2010, spokeswoman Lei Gainer said.

In May, B&C estimated that the search would take between three and six months. Gainer declined to give more details about the search last week.

B&C is looking for a replacement for Jim Rosenberg, who resigned for personal reasons in May after less than two years on the job.

Bill Pritchard, a longtime B&C executive, is serving as interim CEO.

Rosenberg became CEO in August 2007 after Doug Wendel resigned after 14 years as president because he reached the company's mandatory retirement age of 65.

In recent years, B&C has shed some of its amusements to focus on real estate development. B&C sold South Beach time shares in Myrtle Beach, five NASCAR SpeedParks, Myrtle Waves water park and the Pavilion Nostalgia Park and several rides at Broadway at the Beach.

B&C, which owns 20,000 acres in Horry County, has struggled like many companies from the poor economy. It posted a $52.8 million operating loss in 2008, laid off workers and suspended its dividend to shareholders.