Thursday, Feb. 26, 2009
Steven Baker is ready to Rock: New Hard Rock Park President Optimistic about the Future
Hard Rock Park is coming to Myrtle Beach … again.
The park’s new president, Steven Baker, who is also a partner in the investment group FPI MB Entertainment which bought Hard Rock Park and its assets for $25 million, is quite optimistic about the future. “This park, if I have my way, will have all the things people talk about when they think of Disney,” says Baker, who has worked with Disney theme parks. “We don’t know how to do it any other way.”
On April 15, 2008, Hard Rock Park opened its gates, billing itself as the world’s first rock ‘n’ roll theme park. Initially, excitement for the new attraction, located just over the Intracoastal Waterway, was sky-high, and park officials boasted of its plans to attract 3 million visitors by season’s end.
There was plenty to be excited about, too. Aside from the concept itself—dubiously billed by HRP Creative Services as an “Award Winning” one—a 150-foot tall Led Zeppelin-themed roller coaster had locals buzzing, and garnered coverage by national news outlets, from USA Today to MSNBC. And rather than fill the park with dozens of huge rides, the creators opted instead for music to take center stage, with performances by The Moody Blues, Eagles, and others on the park’s main amphitheater stage, with local and regional acts performing on various stages and outposts scattered throughout the 55 acres.
By September, the park closed its gates, without fully finishing its first season. The operators declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which allowed them the opportunity to clear up their debts, without losing control of their assets. But in January, the old owners declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy — complete liquidation of assets. The park set a minimum threshold bid of $35 million, but no potential investors reached that minimum—the closest to meeting that goal, in fact, was FPI MBE, who placed a bid of $25 million, along with a promise to keep the Hard Rock theme (a promise not made by all other bidders). “Nobody did a better evaluation of the park than we did,” Baker said. “Our bid was based on our knowledge.”
The new park ownership is a multi-tiered organization, made up of several different investors and entities. Baker got together with Grand Strand residents Tim Duncan and Tom Wiles, and David Watson, owner of Roundbox Advisors, to form the group Myrtle Beach Entertainment. Baker then connected with members of Moscow’s Freestyle Park group, who helped him secure the necessary funds to bid on, and ultimately buy, the park. The two groups have come together to form FPI MBE. Baker’s group, Baker Leisure Group, a company specializing in theme park management, will be in charge of general operations for the park.
Baker says he was “astounded” that the original owners were able to raise $400 million to initially build the park. “I followed the park from the beginning … I’ve worked for the Dixie Stampede, and I’ve known this market for years. It’s a strong market.” But even still, Baker and the rest of the investors know that every dollar earned in the Grand Strand tourist market is a dollar they will have to fight for. That’s why the new plan—diverting from the failed policies of the original owners—is to concentrate not only on making the new park a tourist destination, but to attract a local crowd, too. “The key is having your locals come back all the time,” he says.
The old Hard Rock Park Web site blamed “unprecedented volatility in the world financial markets” and high gas prices for its dramatic decline and eventual failure, claiming that consumers around the country have scaled back their travel plans, and that theme park attendance world wide is down precipitously. But Baker seems to shrug off such excuses. “We don’t have a $400 million problem, so we have no debt,” he says. Also, the original owners “didn’t market.” The new ownership hopes to overcome these potential hurdles through a combination of advertising—something the previous owners dropped the ball on—and making sure that there are special events constantly occurring at the park.
Another problem of the original Hard Rock Park was the expectation for instant and monumental success. The claim of attracting 3 million visitors a year was simply unrealistic. “In a beach market, you aren’t going to do 3 million a year; you just can’t do it,” Baker says. “I just intuitively knew it wouldn’t work.” Instead, Baker and the rest of the new ownership are setting a smaller attendance goal: “We’re shooting for 800,000 visitors this first year.”
One of the biggest complaints from local visitors and tourists at the old Hard Rock Park was the high admission price of $50. And while Baker acknowledges that he’s certainly invested to make money in the venture, one of the first changes will be lowering the gate price. His target is somewhere below $40, though he hasn’t nailed down a specific price yet. Also, the new ownership is responding to another chief complaint that Grand Strand residents had: a lack of a local resident discount. Baker insists this will be fixed, as well. “You have to [offer a local’s discount],” he says. “We’re definitely going to do it.”
Another push being made by FPI MBE to entice local interest is the promise of creating at least 750 new jobs. And news that may be particularly welcome to Grand Strand residents is that on Feb. 22, it was announced that former park employees will be given first preference when submitting applications. Applications for employment will be available on the Hard Rock Park Web site and at the park site itself, beginning at the end of March. Baker is targeting a re-opening date for the end of May, during the Memorial Day holiday weekend.
FPI MBE says it wants to hire locals for all open positions. Also, perhaps contrary to popular belief, not all of the new jobs will be seasonal ones. “We’ll have a good mix of salaried, and of course hourly seasonal, positions,” Baker insists, adding that the park will need new staff for everything from day-to-day ride operation and food vending, to financial and marketing positions. In short, it could be a local market boom, coming at a time when the Grand Strand desperately needs one.
