Hard Rock Park Inspiring Similar Concept Out West

Hard Rock Park hasn’t even opened yet, and folks are already trying to emulate the Myrtle Beach concept three time zones away.

The Arizona Republic reported Thursday that a Phoenix-based investment team has announced plans to build a 240-acre, rock & roll theme park in Eloy, a desert town roughly equidistant from Phoenix and Tucson. The grand plan, according to the Republic, is for Decades Music Theme Park to rival the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando and Busch Gardens amusement parks across the country, and is “positioned as the West Coast counterbalance to Hard Rock.”

A big part of me hopes the Decades project comes through – if for no other reason than to create a bi-coastal rivalry that breeds a healthy game of one-upmanship, thus providing additional inspiration for the Myrtle Beach concept to grow and flourish.

But as local construction continues at a frenzied pace and legendary groups like Led Zeppelin and The Moody Blues announce feature attractions for Hard Rock Park’s spring 2008 debut, the Republic article indicates that the Decades project is still some five years from fruition. Meanwhile, it’s a safe bet that Hard Rock Park will hold this particular spotlight for quite some time – and fun to see the Grand Strand become a national trendsetter!