Coca-Cola signs on as the official soft drink of the Fremont Street Experience.

LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 11, 1996--Coca-Cola USA has signed on as the official soft drink of the Fremont Street Experience, a revitalization project in downtown Las Vegas.

Officials with The Coca-Cola Co. and the Fremont Street Experience Co. announced the agreement Thursday. The agreement, a multiyear, multimillion-dollar deal, gives Coca-Cola USA exclusive rights to sell its products at all 11 Fremont Street Experience member properties and within the Fremont Street Experience pedestrian mall.

The Coca-Cola Co., the world's leading producer and marketer of soft-drink beverages, is especially pleased to form a partnership with the only new major attraction to open in Las Vegas in the past year, said Pat Sugrue, director, Global Gaming, Coca-Cola USA.

``This is a natural partnership, and one that unites Las Vegas, the leading entertainment destination in the United States, and Coca-Cola, the leader in the soft-drink industry,'' Sugrue said. ``This alignment ensures that at rest or play, Coca-Cola will always be there to refresh visitors to Las Vegas.''

Don Snyder, president of the Fremont Street Experience Co., said the sponsorship will heighten public awareness of the $70 million project both domestically and overseas.

``This agreement will enable the Fremont Street Experience to draw on the invaluable marketing resources of a world-class corporation and allow the project to reach a wider audience of potential visitors,'' Snyder said.

Under terms of the agreement, Coca-Cola products will be the sole soft-drink beverages sold at the hotel-casinos that together form the Fremont Street Experience Co. No other soft-drink beverages will be advertised or marketed in connection with the Fremont Street Experience at any other location or in any media, according to the agreement.

The agreement also allows Coca-Cola to sell its beverages at three outdoor kiosks that will be placed within the project's five-block pedestrian mall.

The Baker Leisure Group, specializing in corporate sponsorships, was successful in bringing Coca-Cola to the Fremont Street Experience in addition to playing a major role in the partnership negotiations. The Baker Leisure Group is based in Orlando, Fla.

Long considered five of the most photographed blocks in the world, Fremont Street has been transformed into a landscaped pedestrian mall serving as a grand foyer for the casinos lining the historic street.

A space frame canopy towering 90 feet above the mall contains 2 million lights and a 540,000-watt sound system that come to life nightly in spectacular, computer-generated multisensory shows.

The project is a joint effort of the city of Las Vegas and the Fremont Street Experience Co., a group of 11 downtown hotels -- Binion's Horseshoe, California, El Cortez, Fitzgeralds, Four Queens, Fremont, Golden Gate, Golden Nugget, Jackie Gaughan's Plaza, Las Vegas Club and Main Street Station.

Funding for the development of the project was provided by direct contributions from Fremont Street Experience member properties, hotel room taxes, city redevelopment funds, the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority, and gasoline and transportation taxes. Annual operating expenses are underwritten by the member properties.

CONTACT: Fremont Street Experience, Las Vegas

Kathilynn Carpenter, 702/678-5723

or

R&R Advertising, Las Vegas

Denyce Tuller, 702/228-0222