BATON ROUGE, La., Sept. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- A new, 300-room convention
center hotel overlooking the Mississippi River will open in January as the
Sheraton Baton Rouge Convention Center Hotel. The announcement of the
management contract and operations agreement with Sheraton's parent company,
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT), was made today at a
press conference held in the atrium of the Baton Rouge hotel, which is
projected to open in January 2001.
The $20 million, 10-story hotel, owned by an affiliate of Argosy Gaming
Company, is the first newly constructed hotel to be built in downtown Baton
Rouge in more than 50 years, according to local officials. The Sheraton is
located across the street from the Centroplex Convention Center, which is
expanding to include an additional 100,000 square feet of convention space.
"We welcome the Sheraton Baton Rouge Convention Center Hotel as an
extremely important addition to the downtown landscape of Baton Rouge," says
Lieutenant Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, whose office oversees the
Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism in Louisiana. "Tourism is our
second largest industry and Louisiana is currently the top state in the nation
for tourism growth. This means that the demand for hotel rooms is greater
than ever. New hotel capacity will position the city of Baton Rouge for
larger conferences and conventions, opening new market possibilities. We will
do our part to market Baton Rouge, and I predict that this investment will
prove to be a good one for the city of Baton Rouge as well as the principals
of Starwood Hotels & Resorts."
A management contract with a first-tier company was considered an
important goal since construction on the hotel was initiated last August,
according to Argosy Gaming Company President and Chief Executive Officer James
B. Perry. "The hotel, in conjunction with the expanded convention center,
will have a tremendous positive impact on the future of Baton Rouge and will
serve as a catalyst for the redevelopment of the downtown area," says Perry.
"We are pleased that we can add the strength of the Sheraton brand to this
significant project."
The totally modern Sheraton Baton Rouge Convention Center Hotel celebrates
the city's past with architecture complementing the look of the old brick
riverfront warehouses that surround it. The warehouses, restored several
years ago, were transformed into an entertainment complex with the addition of
a 50,000-square foot, glass enclosed atrium.
One end of the landscaped atrium will be incorporated into the lobby of
the new hotel, which will offer upscale accommodations for the business and
leisure traveler, as well as an exercise center, full service restaurant,
swimming pool, business center, concierge lounge, room service and Internet
access.
"This convention center hotel, operated by a company with the credentials
of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., literally elevates us to the
next level as a destination city," says Davis Rhorer, executive director of
Baton Rouge's Downtown Development District. "It completes the circle of art,
history, education and entertainment that is available around our convention
center and makes us able to market downtown Baton Rouge around the world in
the way we have always wanted to."
This project is the latest in a string of Sheraton projects dedicated to
renovation and revitalization, some of which have saved a building from the
wrecker's ball. An historic warehouse built in St. Louis in the 1920s and a
Beaux Arts Public Market Building in Sacramento are just two of the sites
being converted into Sheraton hotels: the Sheraton Hotel & Suites -- St.
Louis City Center and the Sheraton Grand Sacramento. Both will open next
year.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT) is one of the
leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with more than 725 properties
in 80 countries and 120,000 employees at its owned and managed properties.
With internationally renowned brands, Starwood is a fully integrated owner,
operator and franchiser of hotels and resorts including: St. Regis, The
Luxury Collection, Sheraton, Westin, Four Points and W brands, as well as
Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators
of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts. More information on
Starwood and its hotels may be obtained by visiting the company's web site:
http://www.starwoodhotels.com.
SOURCE Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.starwoodhotels.com
Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/443150.html or fax,
800-758-5804, ext. 443150
CONTACT:
Deborah Bernstein, 914-640-8361, and Ellen
Gallo, 914-640-8259, both of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide,
Inc.
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