Harrah's Reno To Be Sold; Will Become Non-Gaming Mixed-Use 'Reno City Center'
RENO — Harrah's Reno in downtown will be converted to a non-gaming mixed-use project called 'Reno City Center' after Ceasers Entertainment reached an agreement to sell the hotel and casino.
The Casino was sold for $50 million by Caesars Entertainment Corporation and VICI Properties Inc. to an affiliate of the Las Vegas company CAI Investments.
Reno City Center is planned to house around 530 market rental apartments with 150,000 square feet of office space and over 78,500 square feet of retail space including grocery, gym, restaurants, bar, coffee shop and entertainment.
According to Caesars Entertainment, the proceeds of the transaction shall be "split 75 percent to VICI and 25 percent to Caesars, while the annual rent payments under the Non-CPLV Master Lease between Caesars and VICI will remain unchanged."
“We recognize the long legacy of Harrah’s in Reno, where the brand began 82 years ago and our role in the community. We are pleased the Buyer is committed to the community and supports the redevelopment of this wonderful asset. We have worked closely with the Buyer to provide a reasonable closure plan that allows our great staff in Reno ample time to secure their next jobs, including priority consideration for relevant openings at our other properties in Nevada, including Lake Tahoe and Las Vegas,” said Tony Rodio, CEO of Caesars Entertainment.
Under the terms of the agreement, Caesars will continue to operate the property upon closing of the transaction pursuant to a short-term lease with the buyer, which will allow Caesars to cease operations at the property during the second half of 2020. At the end of the term, Caesars will deliver the property to the Buyer to be redeveloped into a non-gaming hotel and mixed-use development.
“The sale of Harrah’s Reno demonstrates our ability to continuously work constructively with our tenants to improve our individual businesses. This disposition will allow VICI to optimize the quality of our real estate portfolio and redeploy the proceeds toward other attractive growth opportunities while maintaining the existing financial terms of the Non-CPLV Master Lease with Caesars,” said John Payne, President and COO of VICI Properties.
The transaction is subject to the closing of the Eldorado/Caesars combination, regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
