Hotel Online Special Report
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Opryland Hotel Florida Project (1,400 Rooms, $350-million) Moves Forward With Signing of County Partnership Agreements
 
KISSIMMEE, Fla., Jan. 5, 1999 Officials of Gaylord Entertainment Company (NYSE: GET) and the Osceola Board of County Commissioners jointly announced the final approval and signing of partnership agreements for the development of Opryland Hotel Florida in Osceola County. The 1,400-room hotel, scheduled to open in 2002, will be located on a 60-acre site at the intersection of Osceola Parkway and International Boulevard South, a quarter- mile from the main gates to Disney World.

The partnership agreements, signed by county officials, provide for property improvements and marketing incentives for the $350-million hotel, which will rank among the nation's largest convention and tourist sites.

"The Opryland Hotel Florida will create an entirely new hotel experience for convention attendees and tourists in Florida," said David B. Jones, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Opryland Lodging Group, a division of Gaylord Entertainment. "The incredible track record of our Nashville hotel proves our ability to create an unparalleled entertainment and destination experience for conventions and tourists. The marketing resources we bring to this project, working with the county, will raise the national awareness of Osceola County. We are grateful that the County has stepped forward and worked with us to make this project possible."

Nashville-based Gaylord Entertainment also owns and operates the 2,900-room Opryland Hotel, the largest combined hotel and convention center under one roof anywhere. The Nashville hotel opened in 1977. Opryland Hotel Florida is the first project developed by the Opryland Lodging Group, which also has announced plans to develop a major convention and tourist destination hotel in Grapevine, Texas, (in the Dallas area, approximately six minutes from DFW Airport).

"We are thrilled about working with Opryland Lodging Group on this project, one of our country's largest public/private partnerships that will directly benefit the citizens of Osceola County. Opryland Florida Hotel will stimulate growth in the area by creating new jobs, adding millions in tax revenues and expanding the meeting and conventions business base, thereby attracting new business development," stated Chuck Dunnick, Chairman of the Osceola Board.

Opryland Hotel Florida will offer visitors the essence of a Florida experience contained under one roof, while continuing the long-standing tradition of southern hospitality established by Gaylord Entertainment and Opryland Hotel in Nashville. The result will be a vacation and business destination unlike any other.

A lush, climate-controlled environment under four acres of glass will showcase Opryland Hotel Florida's gardens and water features divided into three regions. The main atrium is an overview of Florida, with orange groves and the feel of historic St. Augustine, while the Key West and Everglades areas give guests the feeling they have just stepped into those distinctive parts of the Sunshine State.

Opryland Hotel Florida will include more than 400,000 square feet of meeting and exhibition space, 1,400 guest rooms (including 170 suites), more than 60 meeting rooms, four restaurants and two outdoor pools. Other services and amenities include on-site entertainment, a wedding gazebo, retail shops and a full-service spa. Groundbreaking for Opryland Hotel Florida is anticipated for the second quarter of 1999, with completion of the facility in 2002.

Gaylord Entertainment Company is a diversified entertainment company operating in three business segments: hospitality and attractions; broadcasting and music; and cable networks. Among its properties are WSM radio and the Grand Ole Opry, the Opryland Hotel, the Acuff/Rose Music Group, Word Entertainment, KTVT-TV in Dallas-Fort Worth, Z Music Television, CMT International, the Wildhorse Saloon and the Ryman Auditorium.

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Contact:
Alan Hall 
of Gaylord Entertainment, 
615-316-6553; 
or Eve Hutcherson 
of Opryland Lodging Group,
615-244-5720; 
or Twis Hoang of Osceola County, 407-518-4512
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Also See: Gaylord Entertainment Taking Its Opryland Hotel Concept to Central Florida with the Development of Opryland Hotel-Florida / July 1998 

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