Hard Rock Park in Myrtle Beach, SC officially opened and changed the landscape of Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Over $450 million was invested by the Rank Group, headquartered in London, England,
in this Myrtle Beach Theme park with over 50 ride attractions.
The 140 acre Myrtle Beach theme park opened to a brisk 44 degree temperature on a day when most Americans were thinking about tax deadlines.Hard Rock Theme Park features Myrtle Beach roller coasters, shows, children's play areas, Hard rock park themed restaurants, cafes and Hard rock park and related retail stores. Hard Rock Park will also feature a live music amphitheater that officially opens at $250 per ticket showing the Eagles in concert later this Spring.
The Rank Group also has a Gaming Division, not related to the park that represents over half of the holding company's operating profit and comprises three main activities: Mecca Bingo, Grosvenor Casinos and Blue Square.
Mecca is their bingo operator in the United Kingdom with 117 bingo clubs and more than 5 million members.
Grosvenor Casinos is a casino business with 41 licenses under the Grosvenor and Hard Rock brands and 1.2 million registered members.
Blue Square is a United Kingdom Internet and telephone betting business that the firm is also related to.
Hard Rock Cafe International was acquired by
Rank during the 1990s and Rank now owns 120 Hard Rock Cafes and 13 Hard Rock Hotels and Casinos in more than 40 countries including the Myrtle Beach Hard Rock Cafe located at Broadway at the Beach.
Rank's American headquarters are Orlando, Florida.
Comments made earlier this year by Hard Rock Park included: "The 140-acre rock 'n' roll theme park located at Fantasy Harbor on the George Bishop Parkway will open its gates for the first time next spring 2008", said Steven Goodwin, chief operating officer of HRP Management Corp. Horry county approved the development plan for Hard Rock Park in the summer of 2006, but the park has been on the drawing board for years. As of 2007 developers began follwing that plan as they were laying out details of the foundation and infrastructure of the park.
The Hard Rock name has been successfull in the casino, hotel and cafe businesses, but the Myrtle Beach amusement park is a first.
A state-of-the-art sound systems was designed specifically for the theme park and the venue holds a vast collection of unique memorabilia pieces from the history of rock 'n' roll including cars and oversized concert stage props as
"the Myrtle Beach Amusement park will reflect Hard Rock's commitment to music, featuring six unique, custom-designed zones celebrating rock's culture, lifestyle, legends and irreverence.
Governor Mark Sanford, of South Carolina, said in a prepared statement that Hard Rock Park "represents the largest single investment in tourism infrastructure in South Carolina's history."
Included in the project's design is a bridge linking Hard Rock Park to Highway 17 at the Coastal Grand Mall. The building of what will be called the Fantasy Harbour bridge is expected to be completed by 2009 and will offer Myrtle Beach vacationers another access across the Intracoastal Waterway directly into the theme park.
The park features live music concerts nightly and Led Zeppelin, the ride. This roller coaster blasts the 70's mega hit, "Whole Lotta Love", into the ears of thrill seekers as it does flips, twirls and spins. This ride is all about speed, dips, and spins.
Make sure to spend a day at Hard Rock Park if you are planning a Myrtle Beach Resort vacation in 2008.
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