After one summer of outdoor concert events, Atlantic City’s Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa has dismantled its Festival Park outdoor stage and wants approval to build a swimming pool complex for guests on the site.
The swimming pool project must be approved by the New Jersey Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, which oversees land use in the resort’s tourist district, but the casino is not seeking new authority funding for the project.
Borgata opened its Festival Park outdoor concert last summer and held several concert events, including performances by Willie Nelson and The Killers. But Borgata officials said the 5,000-capacity venue wasn’t a money maker.
“The occasional concerts simply did not provide us a profitable option,” Borgata senior vice-president of operations Joe Lupo told the Press of Atlantic City.
Borgata has now proposed a 3,200 square-foot swimming pool at the site that would be available to hotel guests from Borgata’s main hotel tower.
“Now our 2,000-room hotel tower will be able to provide an outdoor option,” Lupo said. “An outdoor summer amenity seven days a week, we feel, will be very advantageous.”
The proposal also includes a DJ booth, cabanas, a concrete pool deck and a 2,500 square-foot building for restrooms and a food and beverage operation.
Casino officials said they want to open the complex this summer and are hoping for approval by March.
According to the Press, CRDA approved Festival Park and the under-construction Premier Nightclub at the casino for up to $15 million in Investment Alternative Tax dollars. Casinos pay the 1.25 percent Tax on gambling revenue to finance projects approved by CRDA.
Borgata spent about $10.5 million of the IAT funds on Festival Park and Premier, and intends to use the balance to finish building the nightclub, which is scheduled to open this spring, Lupo said.
The proposal is part of a $50 million renovation of the property announced by the casino. The full project includes a new restaurant—with celebrity chef Michael Symon—the already announced Premier Nightclub, 25,000 square feet of meeting and convention space and a new quick-service eatery.
Meanwhile, the Tropicana Casino Resort in the city announced a $25 million renovation of 500 of its Havana Tower guest rooms.
The redesign includes new carpeting, textured wall coverings, spa-inspired bathrooms with large walk-in showers and modern artwork in the rooms. Additional plans include renovation of the South Tower casino to match the North Tower casino’s modern and upscale décor upgrades; the addition of a new high- limit slot area located just off Palm Walk; and cosmetic upgrades to Jade Palace, Tropicana’s Asian gaming room.
In addition, five all-new shows will debut on Tropicana’s Multimedia Light and Sound Show on the boardwalk this summer.
“At Tropicana, we never stop improving the visitor experience. We are actively engaged in finding ways to rethink, renovate and revitalize every touch point for the benefit of our guests,” said Steve Callender, General Manager of Tropicana in a press release. .
Construction began this month with a slated completion of May 2016. The renovations planned come just one year after Tropicana’s $50 million property-wide upgrade, which included sweeping renovations to the North Tower hotel rooms and casino, the construction of the new AtlantiCare LifeCenter Fitness, new retail spaces and a media façade on the Boardwalk, the release said.
