The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tampa Opens With Festivities

TAMPA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--03/11/2004--The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino officially opened today with the smashing of a guitar, "Hard-Rock-style," and Flying Elvi skydivers in Elvis costumes jumping from an altitude of 10,000 feet and performing death-defying free-fall airborne acrobatics before parachuting to earth, all to the delight of hundreds of grand opening guests below.

   With the official guitar smash, the Flying Elvi skydivers and concerts by Hootie & the Blowfish, the grand opening of the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino ushered in a new dimension of entertainment excitement in Tampa Bay. The $100 million, 250-room hotel and casino complex is already emerging as the region's leading entertainment destination.

   Members of the Seminole Tribe of Florida, which owns and operates the new hotel and casino, joined in the official guitar smash. Moments later, the 10-member Flying Elvi skydiving team parachuted to the site of the new hotel and casino, at 5223 N. Orient Rd., Tampa. The Flying Elvi skydiving team was made famous in the film Honeymoon in Vegas.

   Grand opening concerts by Hootie & the Blowfish highlighted the evening festivities during the hotel's debut weekend. The Hootie & the Blowfish concerts followed the successful Three Dog Night New Year's Eve concert at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. Managers are planning future shows by major music performers, including K.C. and the Sunshine Band March 25 and Kansas on April 15 in the hotel's grand ballroom, an acoustically-perfect, plush environment. Negotiations are underway with several other performers.

   Country music superstar and Florida native John Anderson also performed during the hotel and casino's grand opening weekend, in honor of the members of the Seminole Tribe of Florida. Among Anderson's collection of recordings is 1992's Seminole Wind, a favorite among members of the Tribe. 

   12-Story Hotel, 90,000 Sq. Ft. Casino  -  The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa blends the excitement of Hard Rock with a first-class boutique hotel and Las Vegas-style casino. The complex consists of a 90,000 sq. ft. casino within a 210,000 square foot low-rise building, a 12-story hotel tower and an enclosed parking facility, all situated on 37 acres.

   A 50-foot-tall signature Hard Rock guitar modeled after one played by Paul McCartney greets visitors who arrive at the hotel and casino complex. A multi-level fountain highlights another pair of oversized, artistic guitars, perched in front of the hotel's porte cochere main entrance, which leads into the modern hotel lobby, highlighted by extra-large, framed photos of rock music legends such as Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead, The Doors' Jim Morrison, Peter Townsend of The Who, and others.

   Actual guitars are showcased inside the lobby, with the most valuable items in the hotel's rock music memorabilia collection displayed in clear protective cases. The hotel lobby provides access to the Body Rock full-service fitness center, as well as to the Green Room 24-hour restaurant, guestroom elevators, pool deck and arcade to the parking garage. A cheerful lobby bar is highlighted by multi-colored fabric wall panels, as well as two dramatic "walls of fire" and a circular bar underneath a canopy of metals and rich woods.

   Body Rock is a full-service fitness center offering massages and facials, manicures and pedicures, body treatments and waxing services, and personal training in the fully-equipped fitness center. Men's and women's steam rooms and Jacuzzi pools add to the Body Rock pampering options. 

   1,800 Electronic Gaming Machines, Poker and Bingo - Open 24 hours every day, the 90,000 square foot casino offers live action poker, bingo and more than 1,800 gaming machines, including Wheel of Fortune, Double Diamond, Red White & Blue, Double Wild Cherry and Five Times Pay. The casino also includes 32 poker tables and a bingo gallery for more than 400 people. High ceilings rise to a center skylight over the Casino Center Bar with its "Tower of Power" audiovisual experience. The new casino also features plush carpeting with swirls of color, as well as massive new air conditioners to guarantee a clean air environment for all casino patrons.

   All Seminole Hard Rock Hotel guestrooms include unique extras like Tivoli stereo and CD systems, and ultra-luxury beds with linens of Egyptian cotton and European duvets. Typical guestrooms have natural daylight to the bathrooms, separate enclosures for tub and shower and fully-stocked mini bars, as well as hairdryers, personal safes, coffee makers, three telephones, T1 direct Internet access, bath robes and an iron and ironing board.

   The entertainment excitement continues at Floyd's, Tampa Bay's hottest new restaurant and nightclub. Dinner is served daily, with live bands on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. Sports fans enjoy Big Joe's Sports Bar, where more than a dozen giant TV monitors telecast worldwide sporting events. There is also a Food Marketplace and new 24-hour restaurant, the Green Room, with a separate coffee and dessert bar. The Green Room features casual dining and a breakfast menu available 'round the clock.

   Tampa Bay's only Hard Rock retail store incorporates a guitar motif and offers a wide range of gifts, souvenirs and sundries, from a $750 Hard Rock leather jacket to swimwear and casual clothing, backpacks and beach bags, bathrobes and beach towels, Oakley sunglasses and watches from Kenneth Cole and Fossil. The store also features collectable Hard Rock pins in 35 styles, including several produced for the hotel's grand opening. Pins start at $10.99.

   The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino has been under construction since mid-2002. Phase one of the project, including a portion of the new casino, Floyd's Restaurant and Big Joe's Sports Bar, opened in June, 2003.

   The lush, tropical pool area features a backdrop of cascading fountains and terraced areas, where specially-equipped cabanas featuring televisions and refrigerators overlook the pool from inside traditional Seminole "chickee" huts. Adjacent areas are designed to include beach volleyball, horseshoes and table tennis. A separate wading pool complements the main swimming pool, which features a sand-bottom beach entry at one end.

   The hotel includes 10,000 square feet of meeting space, including a plush 8,000 sq. ft. grand ballroom divisible into eight sections.

   The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa is located east of the city and just off I-4 at North Orient Road on the Seminole Indian Reservation in Tampa. It is 20 minutes east of Tampa International Airport, 10 minutes east of downtown Tampa, and five minutes east of historic Ybor City on I-4. It is located about one hour west of Orlando-area attractions, via I-4. Roughly triangular in shape, the site is bounded on the south by I-4, on the west by North Orient Road and on the north by Hillsborough Avenue. The location offers easy access from Pinellas County via I-275, which connects to I-4 west of the property, or from points north or south via I-75, which intersects with I-4 just east of the site.

   More than 2600 parking spaces are available, including surface parking of more than 1000 spaces and a parking garage for nearly 1600 vehicles. Both valet and self-parking are available. 

   Owned and Operated by the Seminole Tribe  - The Seminole Tribe of Florida owns and operates the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, according to terms of a licensing agreement with Hard Rock Cafe International. Hard Rock Cafe International, a unit of Rank Group Plc, currently oversees full-service hotels in Orlando, Chicago, Bali and Thailand. The company has also signed a licensing agreement for a 300-room hotel and beach club with the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, to be developed at their existing Pearl River Resort.

   The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino projects were developed on behalf of the Tribe by the Cordish Company of Baltimore, Md. The Cordish Company has been recognized nationally for its development of significant entertainment projects throughout the country and has received five Urban Land Institute Awards of Excellence for its developments and the International Waterfront Development Award of Excellence for its Power Plant development on Baltimore's Inner Harbor.

   The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino was designed by the renowned architectural firm Klai Juba Architects of Las Vegas. It was constructed by a joint venture between The Perini Company and Suitt Construction. Perini is the largest contractor of hotel resort projects in the country.

   Hard Rock Cafe is one of the most recognized music, entertainment and dining brands in the world. Currently there are more than 100 Hard Rock Cafes in more than 40 countries, combining the spirit of rock music and memorabilia from the hottest musical artists of the last 50 years. Known for collectible and fashion merchandise, live concerts, Hard Rock Live performance venues, the Hard Rock Records music label, hardrock.com and Hard Rock Hotels and Casinos, Hard Rock Cafe International, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of London-based The Rank Group Plc (Nasdaq:RANKY).