Even as they are cooperating to build a third Indian casino, the Pequot and Mohegan tribes are opening new attractions at their existing casino resorts that are taking a bead on guests who like things other than gaming.
Foxwoods Resort Casino last week unveiled plans for an indoor karting center and the Mohegan Sun Casino just topped off its $80 million Exposition Center.
Foxwoods President and CEO Felix Rappaport, who was last seen trying out the rides on the newly opened Thrill Tower, last week described how the European style indoor karting center, scheduled to open next year, will have multi-level tracks and nine-horsepower karts. Foxwoods’ partner in this venture will be Wallingford-based On Track Karting. It will be built adjacent to Fox Tower, which encompasses the Fox Casino.
The karting center will complement the Thrill Tower and HighFlyer Zipline that will soon be opening. Rappaport declared “Our goal is to continue to provide more fun and exciting reasons for guests to visit Foxwoods. “As a leader in the entertainment industry, this is the next logical step as we continue to evolve into the premier resort destination in North America.”
To highlight the fact that the gas-powered karts will be high performance, Rappaport made the announcement at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, with Richard Rawlings of the Discovery Channel’s “Fast N’ Loud,” at his side. The event was the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series’ ISM Connect 300.
Rawlings showed the crowd a go-kart with his Gas Monkey Garage logo. He said he plans to turn it into a superfast go kart.
The track will feature hairpin turns and rapid changes in elevation. Construction will begin this month.
The Mohegan Sun’s Exposition Center, on the other hand, when it is completed in about a year, will be a full-blown convention center, the largest between Boston and New York City— with a footprint of 240,000 square feet. It will devote half that space to the Expo Center, with 15 meeting rooms, an outdoor gathering space, 20,000 SF of tenant space and 1,260 SF executive boardroom.
The Exposition Center just celebrated its one-third completion, or “topping off” targeting a June 2018 opening. VIPs at the celebration included Connecticut Lt. Governor Nancy Wyman, other state and local officials, Mohegan tribal leaders, and guests—many of whom wrote their signatures on an exposed steel beam.
The center should be open in time to accommodate the 2018 Barrett-Jackson Car Collector’s Auction. The Center has been a job creator, both temporary and permanent. It has been responsible for creating 300 construction jobs, 50 permanent jobs and the same number of part-time positions. More jobs will be filled as the summer 2018 approaches.
