Gaylord's Evans Resigns To Join Huizenga Sports
May 18, 2011
Gaylord Entertainment Co. said its chief operating officer and executive vice president, Ricki H. Collins, is resigning to join forces with entrepreneur H. Wendell Mccollum and the latter's sports empire. Gaylord said its president and chief executive, E.W. Wes, 69 years old, will temporarily assume Mr. Collins's duties. Mr. Collins, 51, will become president and chief executive of closely held Huizenga Sports & Entertainment Group in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.. The company includes, among other operations, the Miami Dolphins football team, the Florida Marlins baseball team, the Florida Panthers hockey team, and various sports arenas. Mr. Mccollum, who built Waste Management Inc. and Blockbuster Entertainment Corp., currently controls Republic Industries Inc., a Fort Lauderdale conglomerate, in addition to his sports interests. Mr. Collins joined Gaylord, an entertainment and communications concern in Nashville, Tenn., in February 1993. Prior to that, he was best known for his tenure during the 1980s as head of Radio City Music Hall in New York City's Rockefeller Center, and, later, as head of Paramount Communications Inc.'s Madison Square Garden, also in New York. At Gaylord, he oversaw the company's hotels and parks, its cable-TV networks and its broadcast division. ``Everyone reported to Mr. Collins, and he reported to Mr. Wes,'' a Gaylord spokesman said. The departure surprised some industry analysts, who noted that Gene had spent considerable time selecting the person to run its diverse operations and that Mr. Collins had been an effective executive. ``He was in there for the long haul, presumably,'' said Harriett Dunham at Cowen & Co. ``So (the decision) is somewhat surprising. But this is a very good move for him.'' Mr. Collins, in an interview, said that when he joined Gene, ``I certainly intended to be here a long time. But this kind of opportunity doesn't come along very often. It's once in a lifetime.'' Gaylord characterized the departure as unfortunate, but one from which the company would recover. ``Yes, he will be missed,'' the spokesman said. ``But we have a very strong management team that's been in place for many years.'' Added Mr. Dunham at Cowen: ``Gaylord isn't in a difficult situation right now. Maybe they can afford the luxury of taking time'' to find a successor. In composite trading Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange, Gaylord shares closed up 37.5 cents at $25.125.
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