Elvis Presley Enterprises in dispute over Westgate’s closure of rockstar’s exhibit
Elvis Presley Enterprises is “deeply concerned with the aggressive actions” taken by the Westgate Las Vegas Resort in closing an Elvis exhibit over the weekend.
In a statement sent to the Review-Journal, EPE said the Westgate on Friday seized, “without any legitimate legal basis,” hundreds of Elvis artifacts on loan to the exhibition from the Graceland Archives.
Westgate chief operating officer Mark Waltrip said Sunday the 28,000-square-foot exhibit was shuttered as a “protective action” because the tenant, an EPE licensee, was threatening to default on the 10-year contract.
The tenant is Exhibit A Circle, a Delaware limited-liability company with offices in New Jersey.
EPE said it is not a party in the third-party dispute and has no contractual relationship with the Westgate, but “we have no choice but to pursue all legal means necessary to ensure the return of our artifacts immediately.”
According to the statement, “Despite our wishes to retrieve these artifacts and return them to Graceland, the Westgate is currently preventing staff from accessing the exhibition space to pack up and bring home these priceless pieces of history, which are owned by EPE and the Presley family.”
The 350 Elvis artifacts unveiled last April were on loan to the exhibition from the Graceland Archives.
“At the same time, Westgate staff forcibly removed employees from the exhibition and disabled the video feed from security cameras,” the EPE statement said.
Waltrip, responding by email on Tuesday, said “Westgate has great respect for the family of Elvis Presley and that we can come to a resolution over the considerable sums that we invested to bring Elvis to life at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort.”
“We remain hopeful that (the) dispute concerning the sums owed to us can be resolved amicably resolved in the near future without the legacy of Elvis Presley being tarnished.”
Norm Clarke’s column appears Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. He can be reached at 702-383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com. Find more online at www.normclarke.com. On Twitter: @Norm_Clarke
