Hmmmm the very interest that persuaded us to go with Bass Pro in downtown is now selling their interest.

Gaylord Entertainment to sell its interest in Bass Pro Shops

By The Associated Press


NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Hospitality and entertainment company Gaylord Entertainment is selling its minority interest in outdoor equipment supplier Bass Pro Group LLC for $222 million through a unit repurchase agreement, the company said Tuesday.
The Springfield, Mo.-based Bass Pro Group, holding company for Bass Pro Shops, will buy the 13 percent equity interest owned by Gaylord Entertainment and its subsidiary, Gaylord Hotels Inc., a spokesman for Gaylord said. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter.

"We have said before that we would consider selling our stake in this business and doing so at this time is consistent with our strategy to direct Gaylord's full resources to our robust and growing hotel business, where there continues to be a great amount of opportunity for further growth,” said Colin V. Reed, chairman and chief executive of Gaylord Entertainment.

Net proceeds from the sale will be used to expand Gaylord's hotel business, Reed said. He also said that Bass Pro Group will become a sponsor of the Grand Ole Opry under a five-year agreement.

According to its Web site, Bass Pro Shops has 59 retail locations either open, announced or under construction in 23 U.S. states and Canada.

Shares of Gaylord Entertainment rose $1.52 Tuesday to close at $54.52 in trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Now maybe they can use that money to build a Gaylord hotel in OKC...

jbrown, Have you seen the Gaylord Hotel/Resort on Lake Grapevine? I was there about three weeks ago and I can tell you it is incredibly impressive. They call it the grandest resort in the Southwest and it's hard to argue. Service was way above average as well.
http://www.gaylordhotels.com/gaylordtexan/

That would be wonderful if they chose to build a Gaylord in OKC - maybe on the river?




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Yeah, I had seen pictures before. It is quite impressive.

I wouldn't expect something that large for OKC, but it would be nice if we got a Gaylord resort somewhere in the metro.

Growing up, my father always cringed at the name of the Gaylords...believe he way always angry at their investments in Nashville and the lack thereof in OKC.

Yes, the family has reinvested some substantial funds at OU, but what is the general consensus...my dad would argue the possibility of the Gaylords opening any type of attraction in OKC is next to nothing. Does anyone else share my father's sentiments?

To those of you on this forum who work for The Oklahoman.... it bugs me to no end that The Oklahoman will run articles on its sister or parent companies all the time, reporting on some happening, and NEVER issue any form of disclaimer. Every reputable news source in the nation does it -- if CNN reports on AOL they mention the company relationship, back in the start-up days if MSNBC reported on Microsoft they mentioned the relationship. The Oklahoman never does this. I consider this poor journalism.

Once upon a time The Oklahoman ran a glowing review of the Bass Pro Shop downtown when it first opened, again without any notice/disclaimer. I wrote the editor to ask that they start doing this. Of course I never heard a response, and several more stories were reported, again without disclaimers.

Type "worst newspaper" into Google and it directs you to The Oklahoman. There's a reason for that.

That's pretty funny. You have to click the "I'm feeling lucky" tab.

To be fair, The Oklahoman is a much better paper than when Columbia did their study. That was the late nineties before Stan Tiner came and at least made the paper look more appealing. He tried to improve the content, but the staffers weren't used to Tiner-like drive. A lot of them would wilt at a big city paper for that very reason. He couldn't stand lazy reporters and reporting. Bottom line is that Tiner is gone. But, at least it looks better than some small town rag.

The reason OKC doesn't have a Gaylord hotel is because there is not a need for that many rooms yet. Maybe once Core to Shore come to fruition we will see a hotel on this scale.

I'm guessing they have no legal obligation to do so because OPUBCO and Gaylord Entertainment are not affiliated. The only real connection is that the Gaylords are still represented on the board of directors.