Friday, Apr. 03, 2009

Theme park won't keep Hard Rock name

Say goodbye to Hard Rock Park - the name, at least.

The year-old theme park will have a new name when it opens by Memorial Day under new ownership, officials said today. FPI MB Entertainment, which bought the $400 million park out of bankruptcy for $25 million, said a new name would be announced within a week.

Today's announcement ends months of speculation. The name was leased for $2.5 million a year from Hard Rock International by the park's previous owners, and after the park was sold to FPI MBE in February, it was unclear whether Hard Rock International would allow the park to keep its brand.

Theme park experts have said the park would face an uphill marketing struggle if the name had to be changed so soon to its planned May opening. But they also said a new name could erase the negative publicity from the park's bankruptcy, and park executives say a new name fits into their strategy of rebranding the park as more family friendly.

``It's a new name, so the identity is not there,'' said John Stine, the director of sales and marketing for the park. ``The con is reestablishing the identity going forward, but we're very positive that we'll do that in a very expeditious manner based on the support and the cooperation that we see within the community.''

Hard Rock International said in a news release that it remained committed to Myrtle Beach with the Hard Rock Cafe at Broadway at the Beach and wished the theme park well.

“Hard Rock International wishes Steve Baker and everyone at FPI MB Entertainment LLC the very best of luck with their new venture,” Oliver J. Munday, Vice President, Franchise Operations and Development for Hard Rock International, said in a news release.

The park also appeared to be backing off a solely rock `n' roll theme. Stine said the new name would have a musical orientation and that the park would have an emphasis on rock `n' roll but also include other musical genres. Two roller coasters named after Led Zeppelin and The Eagles would also be renamed, Stine said.

Stine said negotiations with Hard Rock had been amicable. He said Hard Rock was willing to consider keeping its name on the park, and that offers had been put on the table. Ultimately, an agreement could not be reached.

``We had very spirited meetings and it was very, very positive in many respects,'' Stine said. ``But at the end of the day, it just made sense on both sides to just go in different directions.''

The new owners had previously said they would have liked to keep the Hard Rock name. A bankruptcy court in Delaware also required the new owners to destroy Hard Rock Park-branded merchandise if the name would not be kept.

``It wouldn't bother me a lot if they changed the name,'' said Marty Gillis, 64, who bought a season pass last year. ``But I hope they don't entirely change the music venue.''

Read more about the name change in Friday's edition of The Sun News.