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Commitments and Contingencies
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2011
Commitments and Contingencies [Abstract]  
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
14. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES:
On June 21, 2011, the Company announced its plans to develop a resort and convention hotel in Aurora, Colorado, located approximately 25 minutes from downtown Denver. The Aurora development, which is expected to feature 1,500 guest rooms and 400,000 square feet of exhibition and meeting space, will be located on 85 acres in LNR Property CPI Fund’s High Point Master Plan Development. The project is expected to cost approximately $800 million and will be funded by the Company, potential joint venture partners and the tax incentives that are being provided as a result of an agreement between the Company and the city of Aurora, and is contingent on receiving required governmental approvals, incentives, and final approval by the Company’s board of directors. The Company expects to break ground on construction in mid-to-late 2012 and expects the resort to be open for business in mid-to-late 2015. At this time, the Company has not made any material financial commitments in connection with this development.
On September 3, 2008, the Company announced it had entered into a land purchase agreement with DMB Mesa Proving Grounds LLC, an affiliate of DMB Associates, Inc. (“DMB”), to create a resort and convention hotel at the Mesa Proving Grounds in Mesa, Arizona, which is located approximately 30 miles from downtown Phoenix. The DMB development is planned to host an urban environment that features a Gaylord resort property, a retail development, a golf course, office space, residential offerings and significant other mixed-use components. The Company’s purchase agreement includes the purchase of 100 acres of real estate within the 3,200-acre Mesa Proving Grounds. The project is contingent on the finalization of entitlements and incentives, and final approval by the Company’s board of directors. The Company made an initial deposit of a portion of the land purchase price upon execution of the agreement with DMB, and additional deposit amounts are due upon the occurrence of various development milestones, including required governmental approvals of the entitlements and incentives. These deposits are refundable to the Company upon a termination of the agreement with DMB during a specified due diligence period, except in the event of a breach of the agreement by the Company. The timing of this development is uncertain, and the Company has not made any financing plans or, except as described above, made any commitments in connection with the proposed development.
The Company is considering other potential hotel sites throughout the country. The timing and extent of any of these development projects is uncertain, and the Company has not made any commitments, received any government approvals or made any financing plans in connection with these development projects.
Through joint venture arrangements with two private real estate funds managed by DB Real Estate Opportunities Group, the Company previously invested in minority ownership interests in two joint ventures which were formed to own and operate hotels in Hawaii. As part of the joint venture arrangements, the Company entered into contribution agreements with the majority owners, which owners had guaranteed certain recourse liabilities under third-party loans to the joint ventures. The guarantees of the joint venture loans guaranteed each of the subsidiaries’ obligations under its third party loans for as long as those loans remain outstanding (i) in the event of certain types of fraud, breaches of environmental representations or warranties, or breaches of certain “special purpose entity” covenants by the subsidiaries, or (ii) in the event of bankruptcy or reorganization proceedings of the subsidiaries. The Company agreed that, in the event a majority owner is required to make any payments pursuant to the terms of these guarantees of joint venture loans, it will contribute to the majority owner an amount based on its proportional commitment in the applicable joint venture. The Company estimates that the maximum potential amount for which the Company could be liable under the contribution agreements is $23.8 million, which represents its pro rata share of the $121.2 million of total debt that is subject to the guarantees. As of June 30, 2011, the Company had not recorded any liability in the condensed consolidated balance sheet associated with the contribution agreements.
On February 22, 2005, the Company concluded the settlement of litigation with Nashville Hockey Club Limited Partnership (“NHC”), which owned the Nashville Predators NHL hockey team. At the closing of the settlement, NHC redeemed all of the Company’s outstanding limited partnership units in the Predators, and the Naming Rights Agreement between the Company and NHC was terminated. In addition, pursuant to a Consent Agreement among the Company, the National Hockey League and owners of NHC, the Company’s guaranty described below has been limited as described below.
In connection with the Company’s execution of an Agreement of Limited Partnership with NHC on June 25, 1997, the Company, its subsidiary CCK, Inc., Craig Leipold, Helen Johnson-Leipold (Mr. Leipold’s wife) and Samuel C. Johnson (Mr. Leipold’s father-in-law) entered into a guaranty agreement executed in favor of the National Hockey League (NHL). This agreement provides for a continuing guarantee of the following obligations for as long as either of these obligations remains outstanding: (i) all obligations under the expansion agreement between NHC and the NHL; and (ii) all operating expenses of NHC. The maximum potential amount which the Company and CCK, collectively, could be liable under the guaranty agreement is $15.0 million, although the Company and CCK would have recourse against the other guarantors if required to make payments under the guarantee. In connection with the legal settlement with the Nashville Predators consummated on February 22, 2005, this guaranty has been limited so that the Company is not responsible for any debt, obligation or liability of NHC that arises from any act, omission or circumstance occurring after the date of the legal settlement. As of June 30, 2011, the Company had not recorded any liability in the condensed consolidated balance sheet associated with this guarantee.
The Company has purchased stop-loss coverage in order to limit its exposure to any significant levels of claims relating to workers’ compensation, employee medical benefits and general liability for which it is self-insured.
The Company has entered into employment agreements with certain officers, which provides for severance payments upon certain events, including certain terminations in connection with a change of control.
The Company, in the ordinary course of business, is involved in certain legal actions and claims on a variety of matters. It is the opinion of management that such legal actions will not have a material effect on the results of operations, financial condition or liquidity of the Company.