not $89 but $5,000 or so
for package deals to party
all week and watch the
two-minute race from the
grandstand. The company
actually deeded the race-
track to the city of Louis-
ville in exchange for some
help in developing ameni-
ties and expanding capac-
ity, but it has the right to
buy back the track from
the city for $1. And what’s
important to the bottom
line is the cash f low from
the events. Churchill
Downs also owns trade-
marks and other racetracks
and casinos, and it is big
in online betting. The com-
bined enterprise in 2018
cleared a net $350 million
in profits on $1 billion of
revenue, a margin befitting
a biotech winner rather
than a sporting venture.Empire State Realty
Tr u s t (ESRT)
$14, 3.01%, -11%
Empire State Building, New York
You can pay a tourist’s $38
or a prince’s $93 to ascend
the Empire State Building,
depending on whether you
get in line to ride to the out-
door deck on the 86th f loor
or take the VIP express to
the new glammed-up,
glass-enclosed, 102nd-
f loor aerie. Empire
State Realty Trust
collects $125 mil-
lion a year from
lift tickets pur-
chased by
visitors. Alas,
Manhattan
office spaceis in a rare tailspin, and the
Empire State Building still
needs renovations to attract
higher-grade corporate ten-
ants. As a result, Empire
State Realty shares languish
at 30% below the value of
the assets owned by the
trust (including other New
York City properties). That’s
a massive discount, and it
proves there’s no guarantee
the capital markets will
attribute extra value to
a property owner just
because its building is a
famous or beloved land-
mark. Empire State Realty
is slowly adding new and
better tenants to the tower,
however, and expects to
close the gap between its
rents and the average for
Manhattan.Las Vegas Sands (LVS)
$63, 4.91%, 20%
Venetian and Palazzo resorts,
Las Vegas
The complex includes the
Venetian and Palazzo hotels
and casinos, which together
have 7,117 rooms and consti-
tute America’s largest hotel.
(There’s also a convention
center.) The complex is not
a formal historical land-
mark, but it exemplifies the
Vegas Strip, which is a spe-
cial symbol of America and
a backdrop for many movie
scenes. The firm’s China
and Singapore casinos and
hotels currently provide
most of the revenue and
profits, as well as future
growth prospects. But Las
Vegas is what resonates.Manchester United
PLC (MANU)
$18, 0.97%, 1.4%
Old Trafford Stadium,
Manchester, EnglandThe history of public share-
holders in big league sports
is both limited and uninspir-
ing. Way back when, indus-
trial companies sometimes
owned ball clubs to help
market products; Anheuser-
Busch once ran the St. Louis
Cardinals. Today, the finan-
cial value of sports teams
stems mostly from product
licensing and real estate.
Manchester United PLC
owns the world’s most pop-
ular sports team (it has 10
times the social media fol-
lowing of the New York
Yankees), as well as its hal-
lowed turf, which includes
a café, museum and mega-
store. The company sweeps
in far more from merchan-
dise and sponsorships than
from ticket sales. The com-
pany’s U.S. owners control
most of the shares, but the
rest trade and pay a small
dividend.Norfolk Southern
Railway (NSC)
$194, 1.94%, 15%
Horseshoe Curve, Altoona, Pa.
If you’ve seen photos of a
train bent so sharply that
riders in the front cars can
see those in the rear, you’re
probably looking at this re-
markable trackage in cen-
tral Pennsylvania. As legend
has it, Horseshoe Curve
was high on the Nazis’ list
of U.S. targets to sabotage.
Norfolk Southern, operating
in 22 states and the District
of Columbia, is successor
to the curve’s original
owner, the Pennsylvania
Railroad. The stock has
been a splendid long-term
investment: As of October
2019, the company has de-
clared a stock dividend for
149 consecutive quarters.Ryman Hospitality
Properties (RHP)
$89, 4.03%, 25%
Ryman Auditorium, Nashville
Ryman Hospitality Proper-
ties is a hotel and entertain-
ment REIT that changed its
name from Gaylord Hotels
after it restored the Grand
Ole Opry’s original home in
downtown Nashville. The
Ryman’s history dates back
to 1892, but it is now a state-
of-the-art theater and con-
cert venue that attracts such
premier country acts as
Vince Gill and Amy Grant,
as well as the Moscow Bal-
let and Elvis Costello. It
alternates Grand Ole Opry
shows with the Opry’s per-
manent location at Opry-
land, outside the city.Vornado (VNO)
$65, 4.09%, -6.6%
The Mart, Chicago
This hulking structure on
the Chicago River, built to
be the nation’s wholesale
trade capital, was the
world’s largest by square
footage when it opened in- It has had some well-
known owners, including
Marshall Field (who built it)
and the Kennedy family. It
is now owned by Vornado, a
REIT also known for own-
ing some of those buildings
in Times Square, where the
advertising is bright and the
ball drops on New Year’s
Eve. If you consider Times
Square to be another one
of a kind, then Vornado is a
multi-landmark operation.
The stock is deeply dis-
counted currently, with
some of the company’s
Manhattan office and retail
space under pressure. ■
YOU CAN REACH THE AUTHOR AT JEFF_
[email protected].
02/2020 KIPLINGER’S PERSONAL FINANCE 33IST
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