Agreed, the current budget is $420M (not trying to be unfair). The $1B mentioned was the cost figure mentioned during the original unveiling of what was to be a condominium resort financed upfront by prospective owners. Whatever the cost, that plan later changed to a hotel resort, presumably due to a lack of investment interest. The reported figures since then have varied between $650M, then $600, now $420M. Budgets are merely estimates and it's anyone's guess what the final tab will be, especially given the circumstances surrounding the construction. The key difference being that paid-for condos carry far less financial liability than a hotel resort that must maintain occupancy rates to pay for itself.

The reason they're not paying for it out of cash is due to the relatively cheap cost of borrowing, but more importantly the industry's harsh penalties of not ensuring ample cash on hand. If Allegiant were forced to pay the cost in cash, it would find its balance sheet in a very precarious position.

Not looking for a pi$$ing contest or claiming the sky is falling, but having many uniforms in my closet, I'm not deluding myself that it's all rainbows and ice cream either. CASM can change quickly (when oil hit $238/BBL a leaner G4 barely eaked out a profit) and in a recession, leisure travel is discretionary. As with any business plan, there's always risk involved and time will tell. I'm not the only one concerned, but unlike this analyst, I actually care about the outcome.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/budget-airline-diversifying-just-losing-165000398.html