Famous faces, famous places
Friday, October 24, 2008

Catherine Deshayes

endorsing aftershave and sports bags is one thing, but putting their name to a property development is quite another. In the light of the failure of the Steffi Graf/Andre Agassi venture in Idaho - they have cut all ties with the project - TheMoveChannel takes a look at whether celebrities and property ever make a successful match...

This time last year, tennis star Andre Agassi was playing the property game. He launched Fairmont Tamarack, a 300-unit residential project in Idaho, USA, aimed at family friendly sporting holidays.

It was the first property venture for Agassi and his on and off court match, Steffi Graf, who formed Agassi Graf Developments in order to provide them with a life after tennis.

Fairmont Tamarack is 90 minutes from Idaho's capital, Boise, and boasts excellent snowfall for winter sports and the 21-mile long Lake Cascade for summer hiking, golfing and sightseeing. The units range in price from £450,000 to more than £3.2 million.

Agassi said at the time, "Tamarack is a privately owned resort and numbers will be restricted to 2,500 properties. You will feel like you own the mountain."

Despite all the publicity a celebrity endorsement brings, it was not enough to stop this development from floundering financially.

The departure of the high impact names was just the latest in a list of bad news plaguing the Tamarack ski, golf and lakefront destination, which first hit the headlines when President Bush took to the slopes in 2005.

It has been hurt by the collapsing demand for luxury Rocky Mountain properties, and construction on a centerpiece village has now been halted.

Banks have begun foreclosure proceedings on two properties inside Tamarack Resort and also threatened to remove two ski lifts, further signs of financial woes at the central Idaho vacation development.

Agassi Graf Developments doesn't seem to be having much luck. This year, in light of the credit crunch, the emerging property market in Costa Rica has been hit hard with a number of development projects being put on hold.

A top of the range tennis facility designed by Agassi and Graf, is now unlikely to start until 2010 at the earliest, even though construction was scheduled to start this year.

A month before his final appearance at the 2006 U.S. Open, Agassi met with AOL co-founder Steve Case, who is with Exclusive Resorts, which operates luxury vacation homes.

Agassi Graf Development signed on with Case to build the 650-acre, £400 million development in Cacique, Costa Rica, and the tennis stars were to design the fitness and tennis centres.

The development was also to include two boutique hotels, a spa and a handful of high-end home sites.

However, because many large hotel projects in Costa Rica are financed by US banks, much of the construction taking place is in jeopardy as the financial markets continue to walk the tightrope.

Jorge Cornick, Spokesman for the Cacique project, said, "In the current environment, we do not consider it prudent to start construction, but as soon as the market goes back to normal, the project will proceed, as planned," he added.

A St Regis Hotel planned for the central coast and Manzanillo's Mandarin Oriental Hotel, both of which were being financed by Lehman Brothers, have now been put on hold.

Still, the thing about celebrities' ventures falling though is that they have the money and the inclination to move onto the next one, something which can't be said for the average Joe, taking a leap into property developing for the first time.

Agassi has some savings to fall back on- throughout his 20 year tennis career, he raked in an estimated £130 million from product endorsements, including Nike, Adidas and American Express.

Graf still earns millions a year endorsing Adidas, Head, Barilla (the Italian pasta maker), Mrs. Sporty (a European health and fitness chain) and Teekanne (a tea company).

The couple has also partnered with manufacturer Kreiss to create a line of high-end furniture and they have been featured in Louis Vuitton TV adverts, along with former Soviet Union head Michael Gorbachev.

Other celebrities sealing the deal in property include former England Football Manager Terry Venables, who launched a 222-hectare luxury residential resort near Valencia in 2006 and Arsenal football club, who endorsed the Football Village at Pueblo Real Golf in Spain.

Boris Becker made a break from the broom cupboard to turn developer by agreeing to put his name onto the Boris Becker Tower in Dubai.

Forget million dollar baby; Hollywood actress Hillary Swank became a million dollar lady when she signed on to endorse The World in Dubai.

Last but not least, Donald Trump took a break from his boardroom to endorse the Palm Trump International Tower in Dubai, which will be the centerpiece of the Palm Golden Mile.

How the other half live...