Debbie Reynolds sale near — wrestlers seek new site

Thursday, July 13, 2000 | 10:48 a.m.

The World Wrestling Federation says it's within weeks of selling the Debbie Reynolds hotel-casino in Las Vegas, but officials declined to name the prospective buyer.

Vince McMahon, chairman and co-founder of the WWF, in Las Vegas to announce details of plans for the city's new XFL football franchise Wednesday, said when the sale is announced, the organization would move ahead on building or acquiring another property.

"Basically, we jumped too quickly because the property we originally bought (the Debbie Reynolds) is too small for the vision," McMahon said.

The WWF acquired the 300-room Debbie Reynolds and its 6,600-square-foot casino for $10.85 million in a bankruptcy sale in 1998.

But less than a year later, the organization, based in Stamford, Conn., determined that the resort on Convention Center Drive near the Strip wasn't large enough to accommodate the live events the organization hopes to stage.

McMahon said the organization still plans to have a Las Vegas property, but wants it to be large enough to accommodate fans who would travel to the city to attend a WWF event or, eventually, XFL football games.

McMahon said the WWF stages about 200 live events a year. The XFL, jointly owned by World Wrestling Federation Entertainment Inc. and the NBC television network, plans to begin its league in February with eight teams playing a 10-game schedule.

When the organization purchased the Debbie Reynolds, officials said they wanted to develop a 1,000-room property. One of the plans called for razing the Debbie Reynolds and building a 35-story hotel tower with a 50,000-square-foot casino in its place.

Some of the rooms of the existing property have time-share commitments with 1,100 property owners and the WWF determined it needed permission from 75 percent of them to go forward with its plan. But the organization determined it would be easier to sell the property and start fresh.

McMahon said Wednesday that all the partners associated with the WWF and the football league would work to coordinate live events, games and promotions in Las Vegas because of its status as an entertainment venue.