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Freestyle Music Park to showcases new kids section today
Freestyle Music Park, the former Hard Rock Park, will unveil a new children's section and some new children's rides at a media event today, according to a news release.
John Stine, the park's director of sales and marketing, said Monday the park would be showcasing a section of the park on Wednesday, but he declined to provide further details at the time. The park's new owner, FPI MB Entertainment, has said it wanted to make the park more family friendly.
FPI MBE purchased the $400 million park out of bankruptcy in February for $25 million after the park had a lackluster first season in 2008. In recent weeks, FPI MBE dropped the Hard Rock Park name but still plans on opening around Memorial Day.
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Freestyle Music Park unveils new kids' show, ticket promotion
The new owners of Freestyle Music Park, the former Hard Rock Park, continued working toward their May 23 reopening on Friday, unveiling a new kids show and putting up a Freestyle Music Park sign near the entrance of the attraction.
The kids show, called Flip 5 Live, will feature 11 performers between 16 and 19 years old who will dance, tumble and sing. At a media demonstration on Friday, the dancers were dressed in brightly colored costumes and wigs of yellow, orange and other colors.
"It was great to see everyone tapping their feet and moving with the music during the presentation," said John Stine, the park's sales and marketing director.
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Opening day set for Freestyle Music Park
Freestyle Music Park, formerly called Hard Rock Park, will open its doors at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 23, for its second season, according to a count-down clock posted on the park's Web site.
A spokeswoman for the park did not immediately confirm the opening time, but said that information regarding the park's opening day events would be released later today. She also said an announcement regarding the former Led Zeppelin roller coaster would be released.
The park's new owner, FPI MB Entertainment, has said it planned for a Memorial Day weekend opening. The company bought the $400 million park out of bankruptcy for $25 million in February after the park's original owners had to close shop due to a lackluster first season.
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Freestyle Music Park manager ready to ride
Myrtle Beach | John Fitzgerald's theme park career started when he was a teenager working as a ride operator for a Six Flags park in New Jersey. It has taken him to top positions at theme parks in Germany and Spain.
Now, he's landed in Myrtle Beach, where the new owners of Freestyle Music Park, the former Hard Rock Park, have tapped him to be the park's general manager.
"I've set myself up as a guy who does start-up projects and sort of saves distressed properties," Fitzgerald said recently as he sat in the park's offices. "I guess it's what I like to do. I like the challenge."
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Freestyle Music Park says it's lined up investors
Freestyle Music Park announced Friday that it has lined up some new investors, an infusion of money to help the park pay some of its debts.
Representatives from FPI MB Entertainment LLC, which owns the park, say they have signed a memorandum of understanding with a group of investors from Florida and Ohio, but declined to say who the investors are and how much they are investing in the park.
"It's a group. It's not a theme park company. It's not Six Flags. It's not the Hershey family," said Steve Baker, president of FPI MB Entertainment. "We're very positive about it and we're very glad that we've gotten this far."
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