As Hollywood Casino prepares to move from its current location in downtown Aurora, Illinois to the northeast side of the city, the city council has begun establishing a tax increment financing (TIF) district for the site of the new $360 million casino-resort.
Owned by Penn Entertainment, the new venue at Farnsworth Avenue and Bilter Road will include 950 gaming positions, a Barstool Sportsbook, a 200-room hotel, six restaurants, meeting rooms, outdoors event area and a 10,000-square-foot event center.
Last month, the city council and Penn Entertainment signed a redevelopment agreement including, among other provisions, a $58 million general obligation bond the city would pass to help with the project’s upfront costs. The bond service will be paid annually over 20 years with gaming revenue from the new casino resort, an estimated $5 million annually. The city would collect the funds each year through the TIF district to pay the bonds. If casino revenue doesn’t meet $5 million a year, the casino would make up the difference for the bond payments.
Recently the council’s Finance Committee recommended paying a consulting firm $42,000 to conduct a feasibility study regarding the TIF district. The new casino location already is within a TIF district, but the city plans to create a micro-TIF just for it.
