Saturday, Nov. 01, 2008

Hard Rock ride ends

Park owners hope for sale by year's end

Hard Rock Park is for sale.

The 55-acre, $400 million theme park, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September, wants to sell itself by the end of 2008, according to court papers filed this week.

It also has asked a judge to allow it to make severance payments of a total of almost a quarter of a million dollars to nine of its top executives, according to court papers filed this week.

The roughly 75 of the 2,000 employees kept on at the park after it declared bankruptcy are still there, park spokesman Jim Olecki said.

The park will not reopen in 2009 if it does not find a buyer, he said.

Creditors have until Nov. 13 to file objections, and a judge is set to rule on the issue on Nov. 20, according to court papers.

Olecki said he could not say whether the park is in talks with buyers or what the price tag is. The park still aims to reopen, albeit under new ownership, in 2009, he said.

``I believe there's confidence, some level of confidence, that a buyer will be found,'' he said.

There was mixed opinion among some in the amusement industry whether the park would be able to find a buyer.

``There's always people looking to buy, if the price is right,'' said Jerry Aldrich, general manager of Amusement Industry Consulting. ``You or I would, if the deal is good enough.''

But it could be tough these days to find someone willing and able to make a purchase, said Gary Slade, editor and publisher of Amusement Today.

``I don't know, with the economy right now, it's not the right time to be selling a theme park,'' he said.

The park shouldn't look for Burroughs & Chapin Co. Inc., one of the area's largest companies, to make a bid.

``Burroughs & Chapin has no interest in purchasing Hard Rock Park,'' Lei Gainer, a spokeswoman for the company, wrote in an e-mail. ``The park represents a substantial investment in our community, and we are hopeful that it will re-open in 2009 with great success.''

The park is asking a bankruptcy judge for permission to pay about $223,000 to nine of its top executives.

The park also stated in the filing that the executives are contractually owed up to $270,835 each, though it said the law only allows them to potentially receive up to 10 times what a nonmanagement employee made. Employees not in management got an average severance payment of $2,483, according to an affidavit from Steven Goodwin, the park's chief executive officer.

``Certain of the debtors management employees have understandably expressed concern regarding their future employment,'' the court filing states. ``The contractual severance payments, and indeed the severance program generally, are intended to mitigate these concerns and prevent employee attrition during this critical period in the debtors bankruptcy cases.''

In Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a judge must approve all transactions.

The park, which opened in April, entered bankruptcy protection in September after a disappointing debut season. The park said in its filings that attendance never met its mark because of general economic conditions, as well as the park's lack of funding for marketing.

Here is a list of the severance pay the executives had written into their contracts, not including money for unused vacation days, according to the court filing:

chief creative officer | $270,835
chief executive officer and chief financial officer | $270,835
president and chief operating officer | $270,835
senior vice president and general counsel | $125,000
senior vice president of finance | $43,750
senior vice president of park operations | $37,500
vice president, human resources | $32,500
vice president, park operations | $28,750
vice president, revenue operations | $10,834

This story has been corrected from an earlier version. The park outlined what it would owe the executives under contract and is asking the judge to allow payments totaling a maximum of $223,420.