BOCA RATON, Fla., July 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The GEO Group, Inc. (“GEO”) announced today that at a ceremony held on July 5, 2005, the Company broke ground for a 600-bed expansion to the 1,918-bed Lawton Correctional Facility located in Lawton, Oklahoma.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20031201/FLM015LOGO )
The following dignitaries were present at GEO’s groundbreaking ceremony: The Honorable Brad Henry, Governor, State of Oklahoma; The Honorable Ron J. Ward, Director, Oklahoma Department of Corrections; The Honorable Randy Bass, Oklahoma State Senator; The Honorable Ron Kirby, Comanche County Commissioner; The Honorable John Purcell, Mayor, City of Lawton; and Barry Switzer, former University of Oklahoma Football Coach; among other dignitaries.
GEO’s current contract with the Oklahoma Department of Corrections for the management of the Lawton Correctional Facility was renewed on July 1, 2003 for a five-year term, inclusive of four one-year renewal options. The 600-bed expansion to the facility will house adult male medium security inmates and is expected to become operational in the second quarter of 2006.
The Honorable Brad Henry, Governor of the State of Oklahoma, made the following remarks about the expansion of the Lawton Correctional Facility: “Since 1998, this facility has been an integral part of ensuring public safety and security in the State of Oklahoma. The GEO Group has done a tremendous job operating this facility. GEO is a first-rate corporate citizen, and Oklahomans have been a first-rate workforce for The GEO Group. In short, this has been a strong relationship that is certain to only get stronger.
“There is no denying the critical role that prisons play in our society, both in terms of a safe public and in terms of economic impact. The Lawton Correctional Facility plays a vital role, and we thank them for their commitment to Lawton and Comanche County,” Governor Henry added.
George C. Zoley, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of GEO, said, “We are delighted with the groundbreaking of this important expansion to our Lawton Correctional Facility, and we are looking forward to the opportunity to continue to strengthen our public-private partnership with the State of Oklahoma.”
The GEO Group, Inc. (“GEO”) is a world leader in the delivery of correctional and detention management, health and mental health, and other diversified services to federal, state, and local government agencies around the globe. GEO offers a turnkey approach that includes design, construction, financing, and operations. GEO represents government clients in the United States, Australia, South Africa, and Canada managing 40 facilities with a total design capacity of approximately 36,000 beds.
This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding future events and future performance of GEO that involve risks and uncertainties that could materially affect actual results, including statements regarding estimated earnings, revenues and costs and our ability to maintain growth and strengthen contract relationships. Factors that could cause actual results to vary from current expectations and forward-looking statements contained in this press release include, but are not limited to: (1) GEO’s ability to successfully pursue further growth and continue to enhance shareholder value; (2) GEO’s ability to access the capital markets in the future on satisfactory terms or at all; (3) risks associated with GEO’s ability to control operating costs associated with contract start-ups; (4) GEO’s ability to timely open facilities as planned, profitably manage such facilities and successfully integrate such facilities into GEO’s operations without substantial costs; (5) GEO’s ability to win management contracts for which it has submitted proposals and to retain existing management contracts; (6) GEO’s ability to obtain future financing on acceptable terms; (7) GEO’s ability to sustain company- wide occupancy rates at its facilities; and (8) other factors contained in GEO’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including the forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K reports.
Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20031201/FLM015LOGOAP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.orgPRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.comThe GEO Group, Inc.
CONTACT: Pablo E. Paez, Director, Corporate Relations, The GEO Group,+1-866-301-4436
Web site: http://www.thegeogroupinc.com/