Beasley Broadcast Group's purchase of long-time radio station KDWN-AM (720) is part of the company's citywide expansion plan, Beasley's top executive said Tuesday.

Beasley announced Friday that it will pay $17 million for KDWN, a Las Vegas station owned by Radio Nevada Corp. since its 1974 launch.

"We have three FM stations in the (Las Vegas) market, and we want more stations in the market," said George Beasley, chairman and chief executive of the Naples, Fla., company. "We think KDWN will complement our present cluster. We'd like to continue to add more stations in Las Vegas, because we're excited about the high growth in the market. It's a dynamic market, and one of the Top 50 radio markets in the country -- none of which seem to be growing faster than Las Vegas."

Beasley, which already owns KYCE-FM (104.3), KKLZ-FM (96.3) and KSTJ-FM (102.7) in Las Vegas, will finance the deal by tapping existing credit.

The Federal Communications Commission must approve the sale, which is scheduled to close in the third quarter.

Radio-industry experts say Beasley's purchase price would be an all-time high for a Las Vegas AM station, but they agreed the cost isn't too steep considering KDWN's potent air signal.

"The price is high because KDWN is a 'flamethrower' -- it has tremendous reach," said Robert Fisher, president and chief executive officer of the Nevada Broadcasters Association.

At 50,000 watts, and with its signal-boosting position on the lower end of the spectrum, KDWN is "about as big an AM station as you can build in the United States," said Dave Garland, owner of Dave Garland Media Brokerage in Houston. Garland said 50,000-watt stations are a rarity in America; of the 13,000 radio stations nationwide, fewer than 100 carry a 50,000-watt AM signal. KDWN is the only such station in Las Vegas.

Its wattage means its broadcast range during the day is 200 miles. At night, when atmospheric conditions change, KDWN's signal spans the Western United States and into Canada, Mexico and sometimes Hawaii and Guam.

Beasley said KDWN likely covers more people than any other Las Vegas radio station.

Garland cited several other factors that could push up a radio station's price, including solid cash flow and the value of the real estate the station's transmitter sits on. KDWN's transmitter, for example, occupies 27 acres of land valued at nearly $11 million next to Henderson's Tuscany master plan. Plus, the emergence of talk radio revived AM listenership in the early 1990s, making stations such as KDWN a hot commodity.

"Fifteen years ago, I couldn't give away an AM station," said Garland, who hasn't worked with Beasley on any of its acquisitions. "Now, I get calls for them all the time. AM stations have lots of listeners, and they're outstanding for talk radio, sports and ethnic broadcasting."

Fisher added that KDWN "really had to be sold" following the death of founder A.J. Williams in May and the pending retirement of general manager Claire Reis.

"There was a time long ago when it didn't make a difference how much money was offered -- they wouldn't sell it," Fisher said. "But now, it's time."

He said the sale signals the end of an era in local radio.

"I think reverence and respect really need to be given to the vision of A.J. Williams and Claire Reis, because KDWN has a rich history and a very important place in the history of broadcasting in Nevada," Fisher said.

KDWN premiered in 1974 with a music format focused on soft adult-contemporary. In 1980, the station began its slow transition to talk radio. It initiated live coverage of the Los Angeles Dodgers to capitalize on the number of Southern Californians moving to Las Vegas, and hundreds of thousands of locals tuned into the station for its live broadcasts during the MGM Grand hotel fire.

In 1988, KDWN became one of the first stations nationwide to air conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh's talk show, and the station was also where national radio host Art Bell got his first show.

Today, the station airs talk shows featuring conservative hosts Michael Savage and Michael Reagan.

In August, the Nevada Association of Broadcasters inducted Williams into its Hall of Fame.

"(Williams) was ahead of his time," Fisher said. "KDWN was the first talk-radio station here. I have a lot of respect for the memory of (Williams), and also tremendous respect for a group of employees who stuck with the station and its listeners for so many years."

Beasley declined to discuss plans for KDWN's format, but he noted the station will probably leave its studio at the Plaza in downtown Las Vegas following the sale. He said the company will begin scouting locations for a single space that would accommodate all four local stations it expects to have by the year's end.

For Beasley Broadcast Group, a 45-year-old company that owns a total of 26 FM and 15 AM stations in 10 markets nationwide, the purchase ups the company's position in Las Vegas, which ranks as the nation's No. 32 radio market in terms of revenue.

The addition of KDWN, along with its three existing FM stations, would place Beasley's local station count on a par with that of radio-industry titan Clear Channel Communications, which owns KQOL-FM (93.1), KSNE-FM (106.5), KWNR-FM (95.5) and KWID-FM (101.9).

After the KDWN deal closes, Beasley will also match the holdings of locally based Lotus Broadcasting Corp., which owns KOMP-FM (92.3), KXPT-FM (97.1), KENO-AM (1460) and KBAD-AM (920).

Only CBS Radio owns more local stations, with five FM entities and one AM operation.

Federal law limits companies to eight stations per market, Garland said.

"We'd like the full complement in Las Vegas," Beasley said. "It will depend on what's available. Not too many stations sell in that market now, and most of them have a nice price on them when they do sell."

Fisher said the Las Vegas market would benefit from Beasley's increased presence.

"They're a significant player, and I think the change will be positive and very exciting," he said. "Beasley is a great operator. They take great pride in their product."