From Michael T. Kogut, founder of Citizens Against Casino Gaming --
"Springfield's latest move is yet another example of the city moving forward with a process without regard to state law and in a way even the state Gaming Commission has warned against. The public has a right to know each and every detail and the manner in which the city is proceeding and not just hyperbole and platitudes from the Sarno administration."
3 developers vie for Springfield, Mass., casino
By BOB SALSBERG
Associated Press / October 11, 2012
BOSTON (AP) — Three companies seeking to develop a resort casino in Springfield submitted applications Thursday to the western Massachusetts city, and a fourth that had previously expressed interest declined to enter the competition.
Penn National Gaming, which unveiled details of an $807 million casino plan earlier in the day, MGM International and Ameristar Casinos met the Thursday 5 p.m. application deadline set by city officials, who are expected to select one proposal to put before voters.
Hard Rock International did not apply. The company had also been eyeing Springfield after dropping an earlier proposal to develop a casino in Holyoke after opposition from the mayor of that city.
Kevin Kennedy, Springfield’s economic development director, said the three companies that met the deadline also submitted $50,000 application fees that will help cover transportation studies and other costs associated with the city’s review of the casino proposals.
Mayor Domenic Sarno and other city officials had earlier predicted at least four and as many as six would-be casino developers, but Kennedy said he was not disappointed that fewer applied.
‘‘To get three is a great accomplishment,’’ said Kennedy, who noted that the proposals were all unique and would be situated in different parts of the city.
Penn National Gaming said was seeking to build a casino and hotel project on a parcel that is now home to a newspaper and a bus terminal. The company — in partnership with Peter Picknelly, the chairman and chief executive of Springfield-based Peter Pan Bus Lines — is proposing a 300,000-square-foot casino and a 300- to 500-room hotel on 13.4 acres of land off Interstate 91 in the city’s North End.
The project, which would be called Hollywood Casino Springfield, would include up to 3,500 slot machines and at least 100 poker and other table games. The company said it also planned several restaurants and space for conventions.
The plan calls for relocating the offices of The Republican newspaper to a newly-renovated location in downtown Springfield and building a new printing plant for the newspaper. The existing Peter Pan bus terminal would be moved to Union Station.
Peter Carlino, chairman and chief executive of Wyomissing, Pa.-based Penn National Gaming, said in a statement that the casino plan would contribute to a ‘‘renaissance’’ for Springfield’s downtown and deliver ‘‘thousands of new permanent jobs, significant union construction jobs, and millions of tax dollars to the region.’’
Penn National Gaming operates more than two dozen gambling facilities in the U.S. and Canada. It opened the Hollywood Casino Columbus in Ohio’s capital earlier this month.
In August, MGM International proposed an $800 million resort casino on 10 acres of downtown land that had sustained extensive damage in a June 2011 tornado.
Ameristar Casinos, the only potential developer that currently owns land in Springfield, bought a former industrial site off Interstate 291 for $16 million earlier this year.
A spokesman for Hard Rock did not immediately return a call seeking comment. There have been reports the company may turn its attention to eastern Massachusetts.
Springfield announced a selection process in August to weigh the multiple casino proposals it was expecting to receive.
Kennedy said officials will conduct a preliminary review by Oct. 31 to determine if the three applicants are qualified to move on to a more thorough review. While city officials have not ruled out presenting more than one proposal to voters, ‘‘we'd like one to rise to the top,’’ he said.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission will make the final decision on awarding the sole casino operating license for western Massachusetts, one of three regional licenses allowed under the state’s 11-month-old casino law.
The company that emerges from the Springfield competition will likely have to compete with Mohegan Sun, which is seeking a resort casino in the town of Palmer.
Three casinos submit bids for Springfield licenses
PENN NATIONAL GAMING
A rendering shows the proposed casino plan from Penn National Gaming.
Three well-known casino developers met Thursday’s deadline to submit a formal proposal and a $50,000 fee to the City of Springfield and will compete for the city’s support in pursuit of casino development rights in Western Massachusetts.
MGM Resorts, Penn National Gaming, and Ameristar will battle for the city’s favor, each proposing a gambling resort development approaching $1 billion.
Hard Rock International, which had expressed interest in Springfield and pursued land downtown, did not submit a proposal and will not compete in the city.
The 2011 state casino law allots one resort casino license for Western Massachusetts. In addition to the three companies in Springfield, the operators of the Mohegan Sun casino in Connecticut have proposed a resort in Palmer. The state gambling commission will eventually decide which project will be licensed.
Mayor Domenic Sarno has set up a local contest to evaluate the casino projects in Springfield. His administration set the Thursday deadline for casino operators to submit financial information about their companies and rough outlines of their projects. The city will demand more detailed information about each project later, and Sarno is expected to choose one or two winners with whom to negotiate the terms by which the city would agree to host a gambling resort.
The host agreements would then need the endorsement of local voters in separate ballot questions before the winning companies may apply to the gambling commission for a state license.
Also on Thursday, Penn National released details and an artist rendering of its proposed $807 million casino and entertainment complex in Springfield’s north end. The cost estimate is just slightly higher than the $800 million proposed in August by MGM, which wants to build in the city’s south end. Penn denied any intentional one-upmanship, though the size of the investment will be an important factor in the public campaign to win support for each project.
“Our proposed $807 million destination casino resort will be the centerpiece of a revitalization of the city and bring thousands of new permanent jobs, significant union construction jobs, and millions of tax dollars to the region,’’ company chairman Peter Carlino said.
Penn National’s proposal calls for 3,000 to 3,500 slot machines, poker rooms, up to 100 live table games, and a hotel with 300 to 500 rooms. The plan would create new restaurants, a spa, parking garage, and up to 45,000 square feet of meeting and convention space. The complex would be called Hollywood Casino Springfield.
Penn, in partnership with Peter Picknelly, a Springfield businessman and operator of Peter Pan Bus Lines, plans to build on 13.4 acres near the city’s downtown. The development would include land now occupied by The Republican newspaper, which would relocate if the project wins a license. The newspaper’s current building would then be torn down.
The newspaper’s publisher, George Arwady, said in a Globe interview Thursday that the paper will not be an investor or owner in the casino proposal. “Our main function is to get out of the way,” he said. “We are selling the property, pure and simple.”
Terms of the possible sale have not been released. Arwady said the newspaper has a “handshake agreement” to sell and is still negotiating a formal option deal for the sale of its building and land.
Penn irked fellow competitor Ameristar in its announcement, by saying the company would be willing to help develop the 41 acres Ameristar owns in east Springfield, where Ameristar proposes its casino resort.
“If Ameristar is not successful, we’d want to step up,” said Eric Schippers, a Penn National spokesman. “We have offered to bring in a third party to revitalize that site.”
“That should be fairly easy to do,” shot back Troy Stremming, an Ameristar senior vice president, “given our great location and easy access from the highway,”
On Thursday, Ameristar released some details of its proposal: a $910 million development with 3,300 slot machines, 110 table games, a 500-room hotel, parking for 4,300 cars, plus restaurants, a spa, pools, and meeting space.
The company will reveal further details and renderings soon, Stremming said.
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