Elvis’ airplanes will remain at Graceland
The Lisa Marie and the Hound Dog II aren’t going anywhere.
After a nearly yearlong fracas over the future of Elvis’ old airplanes left The King’s fans all shook up, Graceland officials announced Sunday that they were buying the planes, and that the jets would stay right where they are.
Lisa Marie Presley broke the news on Twitter Sunday afternoon: “Exciting news: I wanted 2 b the first to tell U: The Planes will remain at Graceland 4 ever! We own them and have fun plans 4 them as well.”
Her mother Priscilla later chimed in with her own tweet: “To all those who supported us, thank you. To the naysayers, shame on you. THE PLANES ARE OURS... THEY WILL REMAIN AT GRACELAND.”
Elvis Presley Enterprises president
and CEO Jack Soden also confirmed the deal, adding that it’ll likely take another couple of weeks to complete the purchase. The price wasn’t disclosed.
“Virtually everyone has signed off on it, but there is a lot of detail to be completed,” Soden said.
Soden added that the planes will remain where they are, across Elvis Presley Boulevard and not too far from the mansion.
“You have no idea how practical it is to leave them where they are. Moving that airplane even 20 feet in another direction would be a big job. We’re very happy with where the planes are,” he said.
For 31 years, the two planes have been available for tours in that lot across from Graceland, even though Presley’s heirs didn’t actually own the planes.
Last April, however, Graceland officials decided they wanted the planes removed to make way for portions of their massive renovation project for the Graceland campus. That project includes a 450room hotel as well as an entertainment complex. They gave the plane owners one year to remove them and, as the dustup gradually intensified, some Elvis fans feared the planes might leave Memphis.
Jack Kendall of OKC Partnership, which owns the planes, would not comment on the sale Sunday. He had previously tried to sell the planes through a Beverly Hills auction house, which estimated their value at between $10 million and $15 million.
Earlier this month, Kendall submitted a plan to the Land Use Control Board to move the planes to a 5.3-acre lot at 3850 Elvis Presley Blvd., which was once home to Covenant Presbyterian Church.
Those plans would seem to be quashed now.
The King bought the Lisa Marie from Delta Air Lines in 1975. While he was having the Convair 880 jet refurbished and customized in Texas, he bought a Lockheed JetStar and christened it Hound Dog II.
The Lisa Marie has gold faucets and wash basin in the bathroom and a logo featuring Elvis’ motto — “Taking Care of Business” — on the tail section.
You have no idea how practical it is to leave them where they are.”
Jack Soden, Elvis Presley Enterprises president and CEO