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One of San Diego County's sillier planned projects finally went up in smoke today. Nashville's Gaylord Entertainment won't build the big, proposed, highly-subsidized resort project on the Chula Vista bayfront. It was always a question of when this project would die. Chula Vista and the port didn't have the funds, and Gaylord sure didn't. Gaylord owns four resort hotels catering to businesses -- a lousy business to be in now. But even when that business was doing well, Gaylord was losing money. It lost $1.35, $0.85, and $1.96 a share, respectively, in years 2004 through 2006, then made $2.65 in 2007 and was losing money thus far this year. The company and its touts, including the Union-Tribune, kept saying the losses represented accounting noise, but that was not so. Gaylord has $1.24 billion in long term debt and only $929 million in shareholders equity. Morningstar ratings service gives the company an F for profitability and a D for financial position. Chula Vista is in even worse shape. A Gaylord spokesman said that the problem was "funding the enormous infrastructure costs associated with the bayfront redevelopment in a manner that will generate adequate financial returns for Gaylord, the Port, and the City [Chula Vista]." Subsidized football stadium, anyone?
One of San Diego County's sillier planned projects finally went up in smoke today. Nashville's Gaylord Entertainment won't build the big, proposed, highly-subsidized resort project on the Chula Vista bayfront. It was always a question of when this project would die. Chula Vista and the port didn't have the funds, and Gaylord sure didn't. Gaylord owns four resort hotels catering to businesses -- a lousy business to be in now. But even when that business was doing well, Gaylord was losing money. It lost $1.35, $0.85, and $1.96 a share, respectively, in years 2004 through 2006, then made $2.65 in 2007 and was losing money thus far this year. The company and its touts, including the Union-Tribune, kept saying the losses represented accounting noise, but that was not so. Gaylord has $1.24 billion in long term debt and only $929 million in shareholders equity. Morningstar ratings service gives the company an F for profitability and a D for financial position. Chula Vista is in even worse shape. A Gaylord spokesman said that the problem was "funding the enormous infrastructure costs associated with the bayfront redevelopment in a manner that will generate adequate financial returns for Gaylord, the Port, and the City [Chula Vista]." Subsidized football stadium, anyone?