"We are pleased to have completed the refinancing of our creditfacility, especially given the current volatile state of the creditmarket," David Kloeppel, executive vice president and CFO ofGaylord Entertainment, says in a release. "These commitments are asignal of the confidence our bank group has in our strategy andtheir recognition of the significant value of our assets."

According to Gaylord's first quarter results, the company hadoutstanding long-term debt of about $1.2 billion. "They had justopened a hotel outside of Washington, DC in April and at the end ofthe first quarter they had the debt load of that new property,"explains Robert LaFleur, gaming, lodging and leisure analyst forSusquehanna Financial Group LLP.

Another analyst who did not want to be named tells GlobeSt.comthat some debt that Gaylord had on the books had restrictivecovenants which prevented them from repurchasing a number of sharesthey wanted to buy. The new credit facility removed thoserestrictions and also allows the company to pursue plans fordevelopment of their conference hotels, he says.