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NASHVILLE, TN -- (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Oct. 10, 2000 -- Gaylord Entertainment Company (NYSE: GET) obtained $200 million in interim financing from Merrill Lynch Mortgage Capital Inc. that will be used for two hotel construction projects and general corporate purposes, according to company officials.
The construction projects are the 1,400-room Opryland Hotel Florida and the 1,500-room Opryland Hotel Texas. The Florida hotel is on schedule to open on Feb. 2, 2002. Groundbreaking for the Texas hotel was on June 7, 2000, and its opening is anticipated in the spring of 2003.
Our arrangement with Merrill Lynch is a precursor to finalizing longer-term financing. We are examining various arrangements and expect to conclude those arrangements during the next several months, said Denise Wilder Warren, senior vice president and chief financial officer of Gaylord Entertainment.
The financing is secured by the Opryland Hotel Nashville, a 2,884-room property that is a leading hotel in the meetings and conventions industry.
The Florida and Texas hotels, each of which has 400,000 square feet of meeting and exhibit space, are designed to extend the success of the Opryland Hotel Nashville into new markets and to allow convention groups to rotate meetings among all Opryland-branded properties, according to Dave Jones, president and chief executive officer of Gaylord Entertainment's Opryland Hospitality Group.
Our clients are speaking volumes by booking business even as construction continues. We have almost 600,000 room nights under contract in Florida already, and we have reserved another 700,000 room nights for contracts and proposals in negotiation, Jones said. Our grand opening on Feb. 2, 2002 is in sight.
Jones noted that the Florida hotel is generating new clients to the Opryland brand as well as providing current clients of the Opryland Hotel Nashville an additional meeting choice.
Numerous corporations and associations in the Northeast, for instance, have an affinity for Florida meetings. The Opryland Hotel Florida is ideal for them, and we expect to draw some of those meetings to Nashville after they have an Opryland-caliber experience. The Opryland Hotel Texas will generate more clients from the West in a similar fashion, Jones said.
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements regarding, among other things, the anticipated opening dates of the new hotels and bookings for rooms at those hotels. In connection with the safe harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Gaylord Entertainment cautions investors that future operating results, including the actual opening dates and hotel utilization, may differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements made by, or on behalf of, Gaylord Entertainment.
Gaylord Entertainment is a diversified entertainment company whose businesses operate in three groups: hospitality and attractions, creative content and interactive media. It is headquartered in Nashville, Tenn., and its stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol: GET).
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