|
Tuning in to tourism |
|
|
|
Monday, 23 June 2008 |
|
Page 3 of 4
Fiat saxum: Let there be rock ‘n’ roll
Walking under Hard Rock Park’s grand entranceway, visitors looking up may be either shocked or amused at the colorful interpretation of Michelangelo’s classic renaissance painting of the story of Genesis on the Sistine Chapel ceiling. One of the most recognizable snippets of the painting, the creation of man, is satirized here as God handing Adam (in sunglasses and sideburns) a guitar pick. And so it begins.
Hard Rock Park’s own beginnings came more than a decade ago when Binkowski purchased what is now the Ice House Theater, located in the Cool Country rock environ. Knowing he wanted to develop the area around the theater, Binkowski sought out supporters and ended up in a partnership with Steven Goodwin, who is the park’s CEO. Both men had extensive backgrounds in hospitality, tourism and entertainment business, and both recognized the area’s potential.
“Myrtle Beach was the last place in the continental U.S. that had a stable enough tourist population to accommodate a destination theme park and didn’t have one,” Binkowski said. “For a long time, it was because it didn’t have enough infrastructure. But the state, county and city worked together for years to make that happen and spent billions of dollars on roadwork, building Highway 31. We showed up at the right place at the right time. The stars aligned for us.”
However, Binkowski and Goodwin didn’t start out with the idea of a Hard Rock Park. They started out thinking about a small amusement park and then realized the market could sustain a larger theme park. According to Binkowski, 14 million tourists come to the market each year.
The partners bounced through several ideas for theme parks, including movies and Legoland, before settling on rock ‘n’ roll. As luck would have it, Goodwin is the former vice president of strategic development for Hard Rock Cafe International Inc. — a fact Binkowski said he did not know prior to suggesting a rock ‘n’ roll theme park.
“Myrtle Beach is a music town,” Binkowski said. “It’s the birthplace of the Shag, and it’s where Alabama was discovered.”
In addition, rock ‘n’ roll is something Binkowski knew would appeal to a lot of potential visitors.
“Rock ‘n’ roll used to be what separated you from your parents, but now it’s the tie that binds,” Binkowski said. “I know ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ because of Freddie Mercury, but my kids know it from ‘Wayne’s World.’”
John Gerner, managing director of Leisure Business Advisors in Richmond, Va., prepared the market and financial projections for the Hard Rock Park. He said his feasibility study found the market and financial position very positive.
“What I’ve seen is a great deal of good steady growth,” said Gerner, who has been involved in many projects in Myrtle Beach and has looked at the area for more than 20 years. “In the 1990s, when Broadway at the Beach opened, that took Myrtle Beach tourism to a new level. That was a mega-project that put Myrtle Beach on the map and gave it a lot of credibility in terms of being an area that can sustain serious growth. Where the area once had a lot of mom-and-pop type attractions, now there were really big attractions, and that created a jump in tourism.
“Some people worry about a ‘cannibalization’ effect, with one attraction taking away from the others, but what we saw happen with the example of Broadway at the Beach is that it resulted in higher tourism overall,” said Gerner. “The rising water raises all the boats. So we expect that all will benefit from the Hard Rock Park. Another significant thing we found in our study was that the existing Hard Rock Café in Myrtle Beach did really well, compared with other locations in the chain, so we knew tourists were very interested in this type of theme.”
In 2001, Binkowski and Goodwin approached Hard Rock Café International Inc. and developed a relationship with the company. Hard Rock Park is a licensee, not a franchise, of Hard Rock Café International.
“We adhere to their brand guidelines, but they are not investors,” Binkowski said.
The park’s creators also had to get the OK from the rock ‘n’ roll bands the park’s major attractions would be named after, namely Led Zeppelin, the Eagles and the Moody Blues. Both the Eagles and the Moody Blues actually went into the studio to record a snippet from their songs, “Life in the Fast Lane” and “Nights in White Satin,” to be timed perfectly with the rides. Led Zeppelin required that the entire five-minute version of “Whole Lotta Love” be included in the ride. Prior to boarding the coaster, riders stand in a tiny theater where they view video of the beginning of the song. The final two minutes of the song play during the actual ride.
By April 2006, with partnerships formed, permissions granted and funding attained, construction plans began.
|
|
|
