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Hard Rock Park misses attendance projections, files for bankruptcy


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Hard Rock Park in Myrtle Beach, S.C. has file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, according to myrtlebeachonline.com.

Court documents show the park owes between $100 million and $500 million, while holding assets of between $100 million and $500 million prompting HRP Myrtle Beach Holdings LLC to file for bankruptcy in Delaware, the article said.

The park was developed by SafeHarbor Holdings, LLC, the same company behind Bible Park USA, which was rejected by Rutherford County in May and now plans to settle in Lebanon.

The 55-acre, $400 million park opened in April and was touted by SafeHarbor’s Executive Director Armon Bar-Tur as a marker for the potential success of Bible Park USA, a biblically themed tourist attraction.

Hard Rock Park was projected to bring 30,000 visitors a day in the high season and around 3 million for the full year, however the park fell short of these claims. SafeHarbor projected the Bible Park would bring in 1.2 million visitors the first year of operations to increase with each following year.

Last month, the park said that attendance was not meeting expectations, laid off employees and reduced operating hours in an effort to save money.

Park spokesman Jim Olecki said the park plans to re-open in 2009 and blamed its failure on a lack of adequate promotion and the nation’s economic downturn.

"The economy, the frozen credit markets, the global drop in tourism all just created a situation where ... we weren't getting the attendance that we needed and the costs exceeded what we were bringing in," he told myrtlebeach.com. "Everything just kind of added up."

According to the Web site, economists and industry experts cited the downturn in the economy as the primary reason for the park’s struggles.

 
 
 
Tagged under  BPU


Member Opinions:
By: constant on 9/25/08
You reap what you soe. It doesn't surprise me that a business man that is willing to pimp religion for profit has something bad happen to him.

By: thinkingman on 9/25/08
I'm glad there were a few Commissioners and members of the public who saw through the empty sales pitch of Terri Sterling and Armon Bar Tur. How anyone in Wilson County can believe anything they say going forward is a source of amazement to me.

Wilson County still has time to run these poseurs off, but given how close a much more civilized County to their south came to being taken, I'll bet they continue to bite on this scam.

I await the apologies of Gary farley, Steve Sparks, Ronal Williams, Adam Coggin, Earnest Burgess and the others who fell hard for Bar Tur's exaggerations despite all the evidence we gave them to the contrary.

I urge everyone to vote them out when they have the chance.

By: HuskyLover on 9/25/08
Told you so. Where are all the Bible Park supporters now?

By: in2deep on 9/26/08
By: HuskyLover on 9/25/08
Told you so. Where are all the Bible Park supporters now?

Eatin' crow.

By: diddlede on 9/26/08
In watching the Hard Rock from the day it opened, it was known that things were not going too good. Most everyone in Rutherford County knew a Bible Park would not make a go of it and this is exactly what would have happened here. The mayor and some commissioners would not listen. This is just the beginning for the Hard Rock and believe it will get much worse. It is too bad for all the investors they had and for the people who bought season tickets. Some season ticket holders never even got a chance to use their tickets. Everyone here saw through the smoke screen and realized Bar Tur and his associates were not good business people. They knew they could not get investors for the Bible Park so they persuaded the county to fall for their scheme. Too bad for Wilson County that they cannot see what is about to happen there. The saga will continue because the attendance will not be what is projected.

By: Jamie on 9/26/08
Things that make you say "hmmm."

By: Curious on 9/26/08
I don't think Safe Harbor developed the park, but helped put together the financing for it.

See - http://www.hardrock.com/corporate/press/content.asp?id=149

"...Ziel Feldman Principal HFZ Capital Group a partner in the park."

"Amnon Bar-Tur managing member of SafeHarbor Holding LLC said, "I am proud to partner with Ziel Feldman in putting together this distinguished group of investors including Africa Israel Investments and Polar International Real Estate to join us in creating this exciting park. This fusion of a great brand, great location and superior management team will ensure the success of this venture."

Our condolences to Lebanon and Wilson County.

By: lsmoth on 9/26/08
When the County Commission rejected the Bible Park deal, Commissioner Gary Farley said on more than one occasion that he hated to leave that much money on the table. Now that the Hard Rock Park has filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy and we get a clear idea of how much money can be "left on the table", it appears to me that Mr. Farley has no opinions.

By: GrumpaEd on 9/27/08
The Myrtle Beach paper has an excellent story on this fiasco with well over fifty "scathing" comments.


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