[DiscoverMB]

Court opened today with just two representatives from the three competing companies. On hand were FPI MB Entertainment and Coastal Entertainment. The group headed by Mark Lazarus was not mentioned in court.

FPI MB Entertainment initial bid of $25 million for the park was trumped by Coastal Entertainment, who offered $25.5 million.

FPI stated it wished to keep the Hard Rock brand name if their sale goes through, but Coastal Entertainment said they would drop the name shoudl they win the bid.

There appears to be no bid from Mark Lazarus' group.

More to come...

[DiscoverMB]

To our knowledge in asking around town, Mark Lazarus' group has not yet secured the financing needed to purchase the park. In speaking with many local business owners and individuals, the idea of a pay-per-ride option does not sit well with many.

"I won't pay to sit through a show each time I go," said one individual we spoke to, "It's a bad idea. Its what the Pavilion used to do and what Family Kingdom still does. It sounds like Disney's old eTicket program."

[rockstar]

This is perfect. I am glad that Lazarus group cant get the financing. They dont deserve the park in the first place. Im ready for 1 to roll around so we can find out the final verdict. Keep dumpinb the info on here! This is the only source of info i have right now since I am not on a valid computer at the moment.

[DiscoverMB]

Court is back in session!

[DiscoverMB]

The trustee has stated he does not want an auction and can not confirm the down payment by Coastal Entertainment. The judge has called for a recess which will allow FPI to discuss further action with Hard Rock International over the use of their brand.

The judge did not rule on Coastal Entertainment's request for an auction. Coastal would need 10-14 days to lin up financing, which difers from the original statement that Coastal could close the deal immediately.

According to the the attorney for the trustee, he didn't believe the current circumstances warrent an auction.

[themeparkguy]

DiscoverMB ... are you in court?

[themeparkguy]

when do they go back in? Today??

[Rodney]

Court is back in session!

And is FPI gonna be able to work it out with Hard Rock International?

[philly girl]

This is perfect. I am glad that Lazarus group cant get the financing. They dont deserve the park in the first place. Im ready for 1 to roll around so we can find out the final verdict. Keep dumpinb the info on here! This is the only source of info i have right now since I am not on a valid computer at the moment.

Shame on you LOL LOL You are just as anxious as I am and everyone else. Although it does not seem like too many people are writing in like I thought would be. It seems like the same people. LOL

[DiscoverMB]

DiscoverMB ... are you in court?

No. I was offered to go, but there is too much to work on today for the site. I have my email and phone ringing with updates. Believe it or not, we actually do more than just cover HRP. LOL

when do they go back in? Today??

And is FPI gonna be able to work it out with Hard Rock International?

FPI and HRI will now try to come to a decision about using the name. From the sound of things the judge is wasn't too happy with Coastal coming in at the last minute. If the judge is allowing FPI and HRI to talk, things may be leaning in favor of FPI.

Furthermore, it seems like an delay of 10-14 days would make it extremely hard for FPI to get the park ready by Memorial Day Weekend.

We have been told that Coastal wants to open the park in 2010 and add more rides, like a wooden coaster and another steel coaster. But I can not confirm this.

[hrpwannabe]

I'm new here too, thanks to all the auction commotion. First, in defense of Coastal, most of the world has never even heard of Hard Rock Park, let alone knew it was available to buy. Remember, that was one of the reasons they went bankrupt in the first place ... lack of advertising meant nobody knew it was there. Second, it's not exactly easy coming up with twenty-something million dollars. We tried, got to 22 million, and I'm still hopeful that the deal with Hard Rock licensing will keep the possibilities open. I can honestly say, I had to educate everyone I talked with as they had never heard of the place (both in this country and abroad), and subsequently, obviously didn't know it was for sale. And yes, some of those groups WERE in the themed entertainment industry overseas and STILL didn't know about the place. For all I know, some of the Coastal group could have been someone I talked with in the last week or two.

I am certainly curious why so many on this site and the news sites have thrown their support behind FPI without knowing really anything about them or their plans. Baker Leisure's last run of managing a park was Cypress Gardens. They were hired by the group that bought it out of bankruptcy. The stories vary, whether Baker quit or was fired, but the end result was the park closed for good after less than a year. I know they are creative guys, but that doesn't necessarily translate to knowing how to run a park. Just look at the people that built HRP -- very creative, very nice park --- but they sure didn't know how to run the place.

[DiscoverMB]

Thank you for the info HRPWannaBe!

[themeparkguy]

I was at IAAPA last November -EVERYONE knew about HRP- big talk on the floor and in the seminars, all over the IAAPA website and in their publications- You'd have had to be asleep not to know about this - a $400 million failure. on the flip side, I've never heard of Coastal. What do they do, where are they from, what do they manage, where is their money?

If confirmed that BLG is the operator....Baker has been around for a lot more than just Cypress Gardens- (As I understand it, the CG Owner Group wanted to go in a different direction-less risk for animal park and rides park-stick with the gardens and a waterpark) They (BLG) has a lot of experienced people associated with them. They also do extensive feasibility studies (I used them on a big project before) which makes me think they have put together a good bid and have a good idea what they want to do- Also, Baker worked with HR before.

[DiscoverMB]

We just received word that the lawyer for FPI has agreed to destory any merchandise with the Hard Rock name before the park opens if they can not agree on a licensing settlement.

Much of the memorabila has already been removed, including the Magical Mystery tour bus, which rolls down Highway 17 two weeks ago, on th eback of a flat bed truck. The merchandise with Hard Rock's name is still sitting at the park.

[hrpwannabe]

I was at IAAPA last November -EVERYONE knew about HRP- big talk on the floor and in the seminars, all over the IAAPA website and in their publications- You'd have had to be asleep not to know about this - a $400 million failure.

I was there as well, but I'm not talking about those within the industry that keep up with the industry -- folks like you and me that know everything that's going on everywhere. I'm talking about first and foremost the MONEY people of the world. A $400 million failure doesn't even show up as a blip on their radar right now as the economy is full of them. And then secondly, are the industry people that are primarily overseas and don't keep up with every little thing happening over here.

As for Baker, yes, they've been around a long time and yes, they do a lot of good work. FPI could fire them just as quick and the point would be moot. I've seen some stuff I'd question as well, but you're going to see that with a lot of places. I also think a lot of what they do crosses lines that it shouldn't. They aren't the only ones, but design groups really shouldn't do feasibility studies. Muddies the water too much. They aren't really the worse offenders in the industry of this, there's another group that is in the habit of doing a study and then turning around to do the design job. Sort of makes you wonder how reliable the numbers are or if they trumped them up to get the job.

Speaking of which, what I'd really be curious to know is who did the original one that claimed 3 million a year for HRP? As soon as I heard figure, I think it was sometime before they opened, I thought somebody was crazy. Eventually, sure, but first year? No way unless your name is Disney or Universal.

[philly girl]

I'm new here too, thanks to all the auction commotion. First, in defense of Coastal, most of the world has never even heard of Hard Rock Park, let alone knew it was available to buy. Remember, that was one of the reasons they went bankrupt in the first place ... lack of advertising meant nobody knew it was there. Second, it's not exactly easy coming up with twenty-something million dollars. We tried, got to 22 million, and I'm still hopeful that the deal with Hard Rock licensing will keep the possibilities open. I can honestly say, I had to educate everyone I talked with as they had never heard of the place (both in this country and abroad), and subsequently, obviously didn't know it was for sale. And yes, some of those groups WERE in the themed entertainment industry overseas and STILL didn't know about the place. For all I know, some of the Coastal group could have been someone I talked with in the last week or two.

I am certainly curious why so many on this site and the news sites have thrown their support behind FPI without knowing really anything about them or their plans. Baker Leisure's last run of managing a park was Cypress Gardens. They were hired by the group that bought it out of bankruptcy. The stories vary, whether Baker quit or was fired, but the end result was the park closed for good after less than a year. I know they are creative guys, but that doesn't necessarily translate to knowing how to run a park. Just look at the people that built HRP -- very creative, very nice park --- but they sure didn't know how to run the place.

In defense of FPI they were the FIRST of all to actually put the bid in and put money up to boot. Now everyone is crawling out of the woodwork to be a part of the action. I think it is only fair that they be awarded the key to what could be a very good thing happen to HRP. No one has ever heard of this Coastal whatever in the first place. I just think it is only fare to offer it to the first person after all they can not do any more damage to the park then what has already happened. But this is only my opinion. may the best man win whoever it may be and just lets get on with the show. Lets rock our way through this in a good way. have a good day.

[DiscoverMB]

It looks like Wednesday will be the sale and the buyer may be FPI MB Entertainment, according to the trustee for the bankruptcy court, who was on the witness stand.

[hrpwannabe]

It does look like FPI is going to win it. I hope they do well and make the locals, as well as other fans, happy.

[DiscoverMB]

THE SALE HAS BEEN APPROVED to FPI MB ENTERTAINMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!

The closing will be no later than 5pm on Thursday. The judge said that anyone who wanted to purcahse the park had time to bid. The objection made by Coastal Entertainment was overruled.

Hard Rock Park - Sale Price $25 Million!!!!!

[hrpwannabe]

In defense of FPI they were the FIRST of all to actually put the bid in and put money up to boot. Now everyone is crawling out of the woodwork to be a part of the action. I think it is only fair that they be awarded the key to what could be a very good thing happen to HRP. No one has ever heard of this Coastal whatever in the first place. I just think it is only fare to offer it to the first person after all they can not do any more damage to the park then what has already happened. But this is only my opinion. may the best man win whoever it may be and just lets get on with the show. Lets rock our way through this in a good way. have a good day.

No, they weren't the first. Are you forgetting the group that wired in 5 million and offered a selling price of 35 million? FPI were the first in round 2 that the trustee accepted. The "crawling out of the woodwork" as you say, are for the most part groups that have been trying for longer than FPI, and, thus, should not be desparaged. That being said, I hope they have a successful run. It's far too nice of a park to have such a short life.