At the Tampa Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, owned by the Seminole Tribe of Florida, workers recently raised the highest beam into place at the top of the property’s new $700 million, 15-story, 564-room hotel tower, expected to open in mid-2019. Seminole Gaming Chief Executive Officer and Hard Rock International Chairman Jim Allen said, “When we run at over 98 percent occupancy in the current 250-room hotel since day one, we know that there’s a lot of people who would enjoy and visit this facility, but we just haven’t had enough hotel rooms.”
Allen noted, “It’s virtually going to be a brand-new building.” When the tower’s completed, the property will have about 800 rooms, including 88 suites of which 79 will be new. The top floor will offer a private gaming parlor for VIP guests, with an exclusive check-in and private elevators to the luxury suites.
In addition, a football-field-sized expanded deck will include three pools and a 120-seat restaurant, with a nearby 25,000 square foot spa and salon. The project also will offer a 200-seat Italian restaurant, 30,000 square foot event center with a large ballroom, more than triple the number of retail shops and an additional 700 parking spaces. The renovated casino will feature 5,000 slots machines and 200 gaming tables. Seminole Tribe Chairman Marcellus W. Osceola Jr. said, “You see what this property has grown into. We’re not done yet.”
Allen has been credited with transforming Hard Rock into a hotel and casino brand, beyond a chain of music-themed restaurants. Recently, without citing specific figures, he told Florida regulators and Wall Street analysts the Tampa casino is the most successful individual casino in the U.S., based on operating profits. Allen said more expansion is possible but that won’t even be discussed until two or three years after the current expansion is completed. The Tampa project is part of a $2.4 billion investment by the Seminole Tribe at its Tampa and Hollywood flagship casinos.
