NASHVILLE, TENN. Officials of both Six Flags, Inc. (NYSE: SFI) and Gaylord Entertainment (NYSE: GET) met today at Gaylord's Headquarters within the Gaylord Opryland Resort in Nashville, Tennessee to finalize a deal wherein Gaylord would acquire the entire Six Flags Tennessee Adventure Resort, located near Knoxville and the Smoky Mountains National Park in East Tennessee- in a $3.5 million deal.

"We plan to develop a new tourist attraction here in Nashville to better complement and develop our perception as a family vacation destination, not just a convention hotel" remarked Gaylord CEO Colin V. Reed, who took the helm at Gaylord in 2002 after the former CEO was ousted for the devastating decision to close the very popular Opryland USA Theme Park in 1997. The culmination was when he was 'boo'd' off stage by his own employees and shareholders during the 1998 Shareholders Meeting. (Truth)

"Many may ask, why are we building and acquiring new parks after closing the one we had? That is simple. Hindsight is everything. It is obvious now that the former executives here at Gaylord had no business plan or any idea how to fully implement the changes needed to revitalize Opryland, so they closed it. We know now that it was a bad decision, not just for our company, but for Nashville and the state of Tennessee as a whole." Said Arhur Keith, General Manager and Senior Vice President of the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville- the Largest non-gambling Resort in the World.

Along with the acquirement announcement came another that made the theme park purchase make sense. "We would like to announce the construction of the Gaylord Smokies Resort & Convention Center in Sevierville, just 2 miles away from the new, revitalized Six Flags, to be called Opryland USA - Smoky Mountains."

The new resort will house 3,000 guest rooms and 4.5 million square feet of convention and meeting space. It will also include the indoor atriums and streams that repeat Gaylord guests have come to expect from this company.

"This is a booming vacation market, it is really starting to catch on as a convention getaway as well, so it makes perfect sense for us to be here." Said CEO Reed. Many spoke of competition between Gaylord Smokies and Gaylord Opryland, in Nashville, just 3 hours away. Reed responded: "The resorts will really feed two different niches. Vacation Conventions, and serious conventions, for lack a better term. Different companies want different things, some want their employees to bring their families for a good time, in a booming vacation market, and others want city conventions, where all the services are nearby."

Changes began to take effect immediately. Gaylord took over the park on December 1, 2006 and alot has happened since then. Below are exclusive images, courtesy of Gaylord Entertainment and the Gaylord Smokies Resort/Opryland USA - Smoky Mountains.



De-Construction begins in the Metropolis area of the Park. Gaylord Entertainment deemed the attractions in this area inconsistent with its theme.


An expansion of the Silver Nickel City area of the Park was underway when it was sold by Six Flags. Gaylord Entertainment will continue with its development, referring to it as: "Essential to future development in that area of the park."


The former Hurricane Harbor Waterpark. Gaylord is debating whether or not to keep the water park open, or to demolish it for future use. "We really don't have that much experience with Water Parks, but I guess we will see if the public wants it to stay or not." Said Park General Manager Curtis Smith.

Opryland USA will fully re-open in the Spring, specific date to be announced later.

Gaylord Smokies Resort & Convention Center is currently under construction and is expected to open in Fall of 2009.

About Gaylord Entertainment
Gaylord Entertainment (NYSE: GET), a leading hospitality and entertainment company based in Nashville, Tenn., owns and operates three industry-leading brands - Gaylord Hotels (www.gaylordhotels.com), its network of upscale, meetings-focused resorts, ResortQuest (www.resortquest.com), the nation's largest vacation rental property management company, and the Grand Ole Opry (www.opry.com), the weekly showcase of country music's finest performers for 80 consecutive years. The company's entertainment brands and properties include the Radisson Hotel Opryland, Ryman Auditorium, General Jackson Showboat, Gaylord Springs Golf Links, Wildhorse Saloon, and WSM-AM. For more information about the company, visit www.gaylordentertainment.com.

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2008 - Tennessee Tornado Crew

Happy 10th Anniversary to the coaster that started it all- Tennessee Tornado!

Umm what kind of entertainment name is that?

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It's the founding family's last name, actually.

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2008 - Tennessee Tornado Crew

Happy 10th Anniversary to the coaster that started it all- Tennessee Tornado!

I'm guessing your refering to the name Gaylord..

There is actually a town in central Minnesota thats name is Gaylord..

I always use to get a kick out of that when I was younger and I would see the exit sign..

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#1 Fan of Renegade's First Drop!
-Cole

And Gaylord (perhaps not the same name) used to own the company I work for. Then it was sold to Inland and then we bought ourselves from Inland.

But that doesn't matter. Generally people build parks and "poof" they stay. Or we have this case where the park has been sold. This looks interesting.

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I stayed at Gaylord Opryland for a week during a competition I had around 3 years ago... it was absolutely amazing. It was seriously an indoor jungle complete with many waterfalls, a riverride, a high glass ceiling, water fountains, a pathway around 40 feet above walkways and plants below, etc. My friends and I got lost so many times lol, the place is enormous. Anyways, have fun with this transition. I like how you wrote out the whole idea, and made it realistic too.

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Check out my NL recreation, Superman SFNE! http://www.thrillnetwork.com/boards/...ad.php?t=33703

For those of you who haven't been around on TN for awhile or don't remember- this RCT2 park has quite a history behind it on the forum here. Just search Six Flags Tennessee..

It has grew and changed several times right here, on the boards of TN. This is simply the new chapter in its development.

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2008 - Tennessee Tornado Crew

Happy 10th Anniversary to the coaster that started it all- Tennessee Tornado!

Opryland Hotel was just wow.

They even have fish in the artificial indoor ponds!

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SFGAm 2007 Opening Day April 28th!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, it shure was.
Good times...

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Supernationals III? Yeah I was there too, if that's the event you were referring to.

nice park btw- interested to see where you'll take it

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Stanley Cup. CHAMPS.. CAROLINA HURRICANES
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Montreal, New Jersey, Buffalo, and Edmonton went home EMPTY HANDED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

nice to see something like this. I always thought there was still plenty of room behind the ridgetop karts. keep up the good work.

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I love Coasters The Moasters.

I am so confused? Does this mean that Tennessee is getting a new six flags or what?

no no no no this is a rollercoaster tycoon 2 game park file. throughout the years hes givin it an awesome side story.

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I love Coasters The Moasters.

NASHVILLE, TENN.- Gaylord Smokies Resort President Curtis Smith spoke today with Gaylord Entertainment's Board of Directors and informed them of the new resort complexes development.

This meeting, which the company hopes will become an annual event that is open to the public- highlights the company's many developments across the United States.

"Progress has been much slower than we anticipated and hoped for, this park had some serious problems that were lying below the surface." When asked to elaborate, Smith responded: "Apparently, the previous owners had taken some shortcuts in park construction and engineering- drain pipes led to nowhere, plumbing was inter-twined, and some telecommunication lines were too close to water lines to be legal. In other words, we have a spider web of untangeling to do here."

The park, formerly known as Six Flags Tennessee Adventure, was sold by Six Flags, Inc. to Nashville-based Gaylord Entertainment in January 2007. This coincides with Gaylord's construction of the Gaylord Smokies Resort & Convention Center, just down the street from the new Opryland USA Entertainment Park in Sevierville.

"Construction is going along great at the Resort, we are actually AHEAD of schedule!" said Gaylord Smokies Construction Manager, Chris Reed. The hotel will feature 3 themed areas to begin with- West, Middle, and East: all themed to that particular "Grand Region" of the state of Tennessee. "You have the partying and excitement of Memphis in West Tennessee, the entertainment of Middle Tennessee, and the beauty and quaintness of East Tennessee, all in one resort!" exclaimed Resort President, Curtis Smith. The hotel will contain 3,500 guest rooms, with a total of 3.5 million square feet of convention space, making it one of the largest privately-held Convention facilities on Earth.

"This is a booming tourist market, which is slowly becoming popular with conventions as well. This location enables us with the tourist attractions and excitement of Pigeon Forge, along with one of the South's major "Gateway" cities- Knoxville. We are a day's drive away from 75% of all Americans here."

The Gaylord Smokies Resort & Convention Center is expected to open next fall, with the Opryland Entertainment Park shooting for a Summer opening this year. "We hope for an opening soon, but we truly want this park to be spectacular, we have such high expectations, as should our potential guests. So, if that means delaying opening until it meets our expectations, then so be it- it will make us that much better." said Curtis Smith, Resort President.

About Gaylord Entertainment
Gaylord Entertainment (NYSE: GET), a leading hospitality and entertainment company based in Nashville, Tenn., owns and operates three industry-leading brands - Gaylord Hotels (www.gaylordhotels.com), its network of upscale, meetings-focused resorts, ResortQuest (www.resortquest.com), the nation's largest vacation rental property management company, and the Grand Ole Opry (www.opry.com), the weekly showcase of country music's finest performers for 80 consecutive years. The company's entertainment brands and properties include the Radisson Hotel Opryland, Ryman Auditorium, General Jackson Showboat, Gaylord Springs Golf Links, Wildhorse Saloon, and WSM-AM. For more information about the company, visit www.gaylordentertainment.com.



De-Construction begins on the former Hurricane Bay Water Park within Opryland USA. "We hope this new expansion room will be able to serve our growing needs for the years to come." said Opryland Senior Vice President/General Manager Dan Brown.


The wooden coaster formerly known as Grizzly has been retracked, repainted, and has received new "Millenium Flyer" trains from Great Coasters International as it becomes the "Patriot", a cornerstone of the park's Tennessee Square area- highlighting the sacrifice of Tennesseeans during our country's time of need. "Tennessee is known as the Volunteer State due to its citizens always being willing to step up and protect our country, this coaster pays homage to that fact." Said Park SVP/GM Brown.


This shot is near what once was the walkway to the "Metropolis" area of the former Six Flags park. Deemed "In-consistant" with Opryland's theme, it was torn down. No word yet on its "Future Purpose", but the SVP/GM says it will soon be revealed, and did say it would be the biggest themed area ever at the theme park, which began originally as a family ran-operation in the early 60's.

Other notables: The "Penguin's Chiller River rapids ride has been removed, but don't fret- a new rapids ride called Grizzly River Rampage (In homage to the original at Opryland USA in Nashville), has opened in the new expansion of Silver Nickel City, now known as Grizzly Country.


A sketch of the Gaylord Smokies Resort & Convention Center.

Other theme and cosmetic changes are happening all the time, so stay tuned!

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__________________
2008 - Tennessee Tornado Crew

Happy 10th Anniversary to the coaster that started it all- Tennessee Tornado!