Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Rumors about New Frontier’s sale heat up; Radisson deal off

A plan to transform the New Frontier hotel-casino into a Radisson franchise has apparently been scuttled by a new deal to sell the hotel.

New Frontier executives declined to comment today, although a spokeswoman said the company will make an announcement when a deal is signed.

But a top Radisson executive said New Frontier owner Phil Ruffin has canceled a proposed franchise agreement with the upscale hotel chain "because he has other plans."

Peter Blyth, president of Radisson Development Worldwide, said he met with Ruffin in early 1998 shortly after Ruffin bought the Frontier from Margaret Elardi for $165 million.

"We went through the property and established the level of improvements that would be necessary to bring the hotel up to the standards of a Radisson," Blyth said.

Radisson is part of the privately owned, $20 billion Carlson Companies Inc., which also owns Regent International Hotels. Radisson manages, operates or franchises more than 385 properties in 50 countries.

Ruffin began upgrading the hotel-casino, spending millions to renovate the 986 guest rooms to meet the Radisson specifications in contemplation of an eventual franchise agreement with the hotel chain, Blyth said.

"But a week or so ago, I got a call from him saying he wasn't going to proceed with a transition to a Radisson property because he has other plans," Blyth said.

Speculation about Ruffin's development plans began heating up after South African resort developer Sol Kerzner bought the Desert Inn and adjacent land across the Strip from the New Frontier.

Kerzner, developer of the spectacular Atlantis resort in the Bahamas, is expected to begin construction on a themed project on the Strip within the next 15 to 18 months.

That would increase competitive pressures for the Frontier, which, like other aging Las Vegas hotel-casinos, has to vie with a host of newer, more luxurious resorts appealing to tourists who demand more than a mere gambling hall for their visits.

In recent months, rumors have abounded that Ruffin was planning to raze the hotel-casino and build a new project on the site, perhaps with a joint-venture partner from outside the gaming industry. Estimates for the potential cost of the project have ranged up to $900 million.

Some Frontier executives have recently told retail tenants at the Frontier that the hotel would be torn down and that a new Radisson would be built in its place. But today's comments by Radisson's Blyth indicate that isn't to be.

Neither Ruffin nor other Frontier executives would comment, the spokeswoman said.

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