Mar/12/09 06:01 AM Filed in:
Construction
March 12, 2009
Gaylord
gets OK for resort in ArizonaBy Wendy Lee THE
TENNESSEAN
Gaylord Entertainment Co. received the green light from Mesa,
Ariz., residents to build a resort and convention center there
after voters approved giving the Nashville-based company a $44
million hotel bed tax incentive package this week.
The incentive package was part of a proposition approved by 84
percent of Mesa voters, in a special election Tuesday, according to
unofficial election results.
Gaylord said it would build an estimated 1,200- to 1,500-room hotel
with more than 200,000 square feet of meeting space. The cost has
been estimated at more than $750 million.
The hotel chain has not locked in a specific development schedule
yet.
In order to receive the tax incentives, Gaylord would need to
complete construction by Dec. 31, 2014, according to the City of
Mesa. Gaylord's hotel and convention center would be part of a
larger development by Scottsdale-based DMB Associates to include
venues such as another hotel and golf course.
The incentives will give Gaylord 2 percent of the city's 3 percent
hotel bed tax, money that will be used to promote the Gaylord
property and the Southeast Mesa region for tourism.
Some analysts said the Mesa vote gives Gaylord a chance to expand
its business at a time when construction costs could be
cheaper.
"Phoenix historically (has) been a high demand convention market
and is today in a position to benefit from larger than normal
municipal concessions and lower construction costs," wrote Jeffrey
Donnelly, a senior analyst with Wachovia Capital Markets in a
research note.
Donnelly said he suspects Gaylord's logic is for minimal capital
expenditures in 2009 to 2011 and to line up future growth
opportunities to enhance value.
Timing could also work in Gaylord's favor, said Michael Hughes,
vice president of research and consulting for Tradeshow
Week magazine.
The convention and meeting industry experienced a slowdown in the
third and fourth quarters last year, but it's likely that two years
later the marketplace will turn around, Hughes said.
"If they were to open it within that time frame, I think that could
be good timing," Hughes said. "The meetings industry should be
pretty healthy and growing by then."
Gaylord's stock closed at $5.94 a share, up 2 cents, in trading on
Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange.