Caesars Entertainment Announces Plans to Develop CAESARS FORUM, A $375 Million Conference Center in Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS Caesars Entertainment Corporation (NASDAQ: CZR, "CaesarsEntertainment" or "Caesars"), the world's most geographically diversified casino-entertainment company, announces plans to develop a 550,000 square-foot conference center in Las Vegas, named CAESARS FORUM, featuring the two largest pillarless ballrooms in North America. "Consistent with our post restructuring plans, Caesars Forum is the first installment of our growth strategy for the benefit of Las Vegas and our employees which will also help meet the increasing demand for group business meetings of all sizes," said Mark Frissora, President and CEO of Caesars Entertainment.The cost of the conference center is estimated to be approximately $375 million. When completed, it will feature 300,000 square feet of flexible meeting space, equivalent to over five football fields, and will be located east of the Las Vegas Strip with bridge connections to Harrah's, LINQ and the LINQ Promenade. As part of a series of transactions with VICI Properties, Caesars Entertainment recently announced its intention to acquire 18.4 acres of land as part of its plans to develop this new conference center."We are excited to be investing in the meetings business in Las Vegas as we continue to see this industry as a strong driver for Caesars Entertainment and our city," said Bob Morse, President of Hospitality with Caesars Entertainment. "With its mid-strip location and state-of-the-art design, the Caesars Forum will be the ideal location for anyone looking to host meetings and events in Las Vegas." Scheduled to officially open in 2020, Caesars expects to break ground on CAESARS FORUM early in the second quarter of 2018. Friedmutter Group and PENTA Building Group have been awarded as the architect and general contractor, respectively.
CAESARS FORUM will offer:• 300,000 square-feet of flexible meeting space, includingtwo 108,000 square-foot ballrooms, two 40,000 square-foot ballrooms andstate-of-the-art boardrooms;• Conference space accommodating more than10,000 attendees;• A 100,000 square-foot outdoor plaza, whichcan be used as flexible space ideal for an opening cocktail reception,wellness breaks, or serving breakfast, lunch or dinner;• Direct access to the LINQ Promenade withworld-class dining, live entertainment venues, shopping and the HighRoller;• Direct access to Harrah's Las Vegas, The LINQHotel and Flamingo Las Vegas hotels, totaling over 8,500 hotel rooms;• Accessibility to approximately 20,000 roomsat Caesars Entertainment's nine Las Vegas properties; and• The latest in technology and design.
"Building the two largest ballrooms in the world demonstrates our continued commitment to the meetings industry," said Chief Sales Officer Michael Massari. "We are excited to provide our customers with a new experience and look forward to building relationships with future clients."Construction of the convention center is subject to receipt of approvals and completion of the entitlement process in which a variety of government agencies review the proposed project according to applicable codes and policies, including master plan and zoning issues, utility commitments, and compliance with building and fire codes.About Meetings and Events at Caesars Entertainment CorporationThe world's most geographically diversified casino-entertainment company, Caesars Entertainment offers meeting and event planners one dedicated team, united nationwide, committed to providing the most successful meeting experiences possible. With one call or email, planners have access to nearly 40 properties in 20 unique destinations, with 1.5 million square feet of meeting space and more than 42,000 guest rooms. Mix and match properties and venues within a destination under a single contract and minimum. Enjoy elite perks, rewards and privileges with our Caesars Rewards Meeting Diamond Program. For more information, please visit www.CaesarsMeansBusiness.com.About Caesars Entertainment Caesars Entertainment is the world's most diversified casino-entertainment provider and the most geographically diverse U.S. casino-entertainment company. Since its beginning in Reno, Nevada, in 1937, Caesars Entertainment has grown through development of new resorts, expansions and acquisitions and its portfolio of subsidiaries now operate 47 casinos in 13 U.S. states and five countries. CaesarsEntertainment's resorts operate primarily under the Caesars®, Harrah's®and Horseshoe® brand names. Caesars Entertainment's portfolio alsoincludes the Caesars Entertainment UK family of casinos. Caesars Entertainment is focused on building loyalty and value with its gueststhrough a unique combination of great service, excellent products,unsurpassed distribution, operational excellence and technologyleadership. Caesars Entertainment is committed to environmentalsustainability and energy conservation and recognizes the importance ofbeing a responsible steward of the environment. For more information,please visit www.caesars.comForward Looking InformationThis release includes "forward-looking statements" intended to qualify for the safe harbor from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In particular, they include statements relating to, among other things, Caesars Entertainment's plans and expectations for the construction of the convention center. You can identify these statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. Further, these statements contain words such as "will", "expects", "estimates",and "plans" or the negative or other variations thereof or comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and projections about future events.Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements arenot guarantees of future performance or results and involve risks anduncertainties that cannot be predicted or quantified, and, consequently,the actual performance of Caesars Entertainment may differ materiallyfrom those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Suchrisks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the followingfactors, and other factors described from time to time in Caesars Entertainment's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (including the sections entitled "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" contained therein):• completion of the purchase of land on which the conventioncenter will be built is subject to receipt of Clark County approvals andother customary closing conditions, which may not be satisfied;• development of the convention center is subject to risksassociated with new construction projects, including the entitlementprocess and those described below;• the effects of local and national economic, credit, andcapital market conditions on the economy, in general, and on the gamingindustry, in particular;• the ability to realize improvements in our business andresults of operations through our property renovation investments,technology deployments, business process improvement initiatives andother continuous improvement initiatives;• the ability to take advantage of opportunities to grow ourrevenue;• the financial results of our consolidated businesses;• the impact of our substantial indebtedness and leaseobligations and the restrictions in our debt and lease agreements;• access to available and reasonable financing on a timelybasis, including the ability of Caesars Entertainment to refinance its indebtednesson acceptable terms;• the ability of our customer tracking, customer loyalty,and yield management programs to continue to increase customer loyaltyand same-store or hotel sales;• changes in the extensive governmental regulations to whichwe are subject, and changes in laws, including increased tax rates,smoking bans, regulations or accounting standards, third-party relationsand approvals, and decisions, disciplines and fines of courts, regulatorsand governmental bodies;• our ability to recoup costs of capital investments throughhigher revenues;• abnormal gaming holds ("gaming hold" is theamount of money that is retained by the casino from wagers by customers);• the effects of competition, including locations ofcompetitors, growth of online gaming, competition for new licenses, andoperating and market competition;• the ability to timely and cost-effectively integratecompanies that we acquire into our operations;• the potential difficulties in employee retention andrecruitment;• construction factors, including delays, increased costs oflabor and materials, availability of labor and materials, zoning issues,environmental restrictions, soil and water conditions, weather and otherhazards, site access matters, and building permit issues;• litigation outcomes and judicial and governmental bodyactions, including gaming legislative action, referenda, regulatorydisciplinary actions, and fines and taxation;• acts of war or terrorist incidents, (including the impactof the recent mass shooting in Las Vegas on tourism), severe weatherconditions, uprisings or natural disasters, including losses therefrom,losses in revenues and damage to property, and the impact of severeweather conditions on our ability to attract customers to certain of ourfacilities;• the effects of environmental and structural buildingconditions relating to our properties;• a disruption, failure or breach of our network,information systems or other technology, or those of our vendors, onwhich we are dependent;• risks and costs associated with protecting the integrityand security of internal, employee and customer data;• access to insurance on reasonable terms for our assets;and• the impact, if any, of unfunded pension benefits undermultiemployer pension plans.Any forward-looking statements are made pursuant to thePrivate Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and, as such, speak onlyas of the date made. Caesars Entertainment disclaims any obligation toupdate the forward-looking statements. You are cautioned not to placeundue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only asof the date stated or, if no date is stated, as of the date of thisrelease.
###Media ContactsCindyHarbPublic Relations SpecialistCaesars Entertainment(702) 667-1694charb@caesars.comReinaHerschdorferDirector of MarketingCaesars Entertainment(702) 866-1116rherschdorfer@caesars.com
