Hard Luck Park

"Mister, I ain't a boy, no, I'm a man,
And I believe in a promised land."
Bruce Springsteen - "The Promised Land."

There will be no encore for Hard Rock Park.

That word came early Friday afternoon, when attorneys for the company that owns the park asked a Delaware bankruptcy judge to allow them to convert the company's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing to Chapter 7, which would allow the company to sell its assets through a trustee and use the funds to pay the park's creditors.

For you roadies out there, that means the park's Magical Mystery Tour is officially over.

A hearing on Tuesday should make it official.

Hard Rock Park represented the biggest single investment ever in South Carolina tourism.

When it opened in April, hopes were high.

I remember my first visit to the park. It was part of a scouting tour for last year's Children's Miracle Network Telethon that News 13 hosts every summer.
Megan Winnett and the team at Hard Rock were gracious enough to open the gates to us, and give us a backstage tour. I remember being surprised at the size of the park - which seemed big based on the plot of land it was tucked back on. I went home that night and told my kids to get ready, because this was something to get excited about.

We were back in the days leading up to the park's "soft open." Anticipation over the park's debut was high, as were hopes it would be what Myrtle Beach need to keep tourists coming to the area, even as the economy was starting to show signs of trouble. Would Hard Rock help lead the region's economy out of the wilderness and into the Promised Land?

Then we started hearing the feedback from the public. The tickets were too expensive. There weren't enough rides. Public opinion seemed to shift over the course of only a few days.

Early this summer, a friend invited my son to come along for a day at Hard Rock. When he came home that night, I asked him what he thought. "Dad, the Led Zeppelin roller coaster is awesome," he told me. "How many times did you ride it?" I asked. "Oh about ten times," he replied. "Did you ride anything else?" I wondered out loud. "Yes,sir. But Led Zeppelin was the best. And there wasn't a line. We got got off, ran back around, and rode it again." I remember thinking, "...that's not good. Summer in Myrtle Beach, and my son has free reign over Hard Rock Park?"

In reality, just as in Rock and Roll. it all came down to timing. In reflecting on the park's failure, experts have said the owners couldn't have picked a worse time to start because of a drop in tourism based on rising gas prices and the credit crisis.

It really is a shame - for all who live on the Grand Strand. Hard Rock's success would have translated into millions for the area's economy. An economy which is now struggling with soaring unemployment, empty restaurants and hotel rooms, and a housing market that's showing no signs of life.

Friday's court filing, like the crash of a Max Weinberg cymbal, marks the "official" end to Hard Rock Park.

What a short, strange trip it's been.

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