Hard Rock Park Blog.com

As the conversation of Paradise City and a possible Hotel (maybe Hard Rock Hotel specifically) has come up again with the new signage on the old Waccamaw Pottery Building, we thought to look around to see if we can derive some clues what may be in the Hard Rock Park area’s future.*

Looking all the way back to 2006!  The South Carolina state website posted its first press release of Hard Rock International’s planned park in Myrtle Beach (see here).  And in between all those words and hopes for the future was a few lines about an expanded area surrounding the park:

Plans have been under development for some time and also make provision for a Hard Rock Hotel. “This is a unique and exciting venture for Hard Rock,” said Hamish Dodds, President and CEO, Hard Rock International.  “In both the Hard Rock Park and Hotel we will be working with some of rock’s legendary artists to create a unique entertainment venue.”

Here is another interesting nugget - Steven Goodwin’s, CEO and CFO of Hard Rock Park, own executive biography, found on Hard Rock Park’s website reads, in part:

From 1997 to 2000, Mr. Goodwin served as the Vice President of Strategic Development for Hard Rock International and the Managing Director for Hard Rock Hotel & Casinos where he was responsible for developing the Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Orlando, initiating development of the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi and overseeing construction the Hard Rock Live and Cafe in Orlando, Florida. From 1993 to 1997, Mr. Goodwin served as a Vice President of Theme Parks & Resorts for The Rank Group Plc. Mr. Goodwin managed The Rank Group’s investment in the Universal Studios Florida theme park and oversaw the financing and development of the $1 billion Islands of Adventure theme park, CityWalk nighttime entertainment venue and three resort hotels.

Also, Felix Mussenden’s, President and COO of Hard Rock Park, own executive biography, found on Hard Rock Park’s website reads, in part:

Mr. Mussenden was previously employed by Universal Studios, where he served as the President and Chief Operating Officer of the Universal Orlando Resort from 1999 to 2001 and, from 1997 to 1999, as the Executive Vice President of Attractions for Universal Studios Florida where he oversaw the pre-opening operations of the Islands of Adventure theme park, the CityWalk nighttime entertainment venue and three resort hotels.

Our own posts over the past year or so include one in October, in November (when park officials claimed there would be no such thing at least for the time-being), one in January, and here we are full circle again almost a year later…  Its interesting to see how these plans are being kept so hush hush and the second we think something might be coming it gets pulled away almost as quickly…  So either we may be forced to wait for the official press release or we’ll be kept waiting indefinately if there are really no plans in the future.  But of the three items listed about, what I think, personally, holds the most weight is that two out of the three top figures of Hard Rock Park have extensive experience in park-related area expansion such as resort hotels and related shopping areas.   I doubt anyone plans for this experience to go to waste.

*There is more recent information floating out there but for the purpose of being able to cite reputable sources we will not be posting them. 

The Sun News released an article today with many interesting points about Hard Rock Park.  A brief look at what they expected before the park was opened, what the park is trying to do now, and what they are still hoping for in the future.  Some of the points the article makes touch on a lot of what has been discussed already here by our readers, the good, the bad, and the unfortunate:

“It is a really tough summer,” said Steven Goodwin, CEO of the $400 million Hard Rock Park, which licenses the brand name from the restaurant chain. “We’re seeing people cutting their vacations from seven days to five days to three days, spending less money.”

“This year will be relatively flat across the board because of gas prices and the economy,” said Dennis Speigel, president of International Theme Park Services, a Cincinnati-based consulting firm. “This was a tough year for the Hard Rock Park to open up, unfortunately. Poor timing.”

“It’s not usually that crowded. The most we’ve had to wait is about 15 minutes, and I kind of like it that way,” said season passholder Debbie Wilfong of Myrtle Beach. “I’m sure they would like it to be more, but we’re never bogged down with a bunch of lines.”

To adjust, the park has reduced its operating hours, lowered ticket prices and scaled back employment.  When it opened in April, executives said the park would hire up to 3,000 people, but they say now it employs about 2,000 at its peak.  The park has fiddled with its prices throughout the year, backing off of its initial $50 price for all ages that kept some local residents and tourists away.

The park is still adding attractions. The most recent addition is a performance stage dubbed Phonehenge - phone booths arranged to mimic the British archaeological attraction Stonehenge.  The park hopes to eventually open daily even in the off-season. But that’s at least five to 10 years down the road, Goodwin said.

“They need to figure out exactly how to market themselves, where to do that and to what groups of people,” Schunk said. “Once they get all of that stuff squared away, I think they can do very well in this area. By and large they’ve got a nice product out there.”

The article is worth a read, either online at the link above or bust open the still-wrapped up Sunday newspaper when you get a chance!  One comment that really caught my attention was that “Hard Rock Park’s initial marketing plan… was to try to attract as much free media publicity as possible in the first year, according to Kerry Graves, the park’s former marketing executive.”  And we fully agree with Bill Haralson (an economic and planning consultant for water parks in the area) who said “Their focus was too narrow.  You can’t spend $400 million on a park and not have a very aggressive marketing strategy. You can’t do it.”

So what is in Hard Rock Park’s marketing future?  I believe that once that is situated, and they know they need to do it, we will definately see the park’s economic future boost.