The Philadelphia Planning Commission has approved the construction plan for the Live! Casino, a 0 million casino resort in South Philadelphia’s stadium district planned by Stadium Casino, a partnership of Baltimore-based Cordish Companies and Greenwood Racing, owner of the Parx casino at Philadelphia Park in Bensalem, Pennsylvania.
The plan, approved despite much opposition from current Philadelphia operator SugarHouse Casino due to market saturation concerns. Calls for a 2 million-square-foot facility with more than 2,000 slot machines, 125 table games, an upscale boutique hotel (a renovation of the current Holiday Inn hotel at the site), local and nationally recognized destination restaurants, live entertainment venues and a 3,000-space parking garage.
“We extend our thanks to the Planning Commission for its thoughtful consideration of the project plan,” said Joe Weinberg, managing partner of the Cordish Companies. “With our preeminent location, innovative, world-class architecture, interior design and exciting resort, dining and entertainment venues, guests from all over the world will experience the country’s first comprehensive gaming, resort, entertainment and sports destination right in Philadelphia’s Stadium District.”
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board chose the Live! project because of the foot traffic expected from events at the three nearby sports stadiums of the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles, MLB’s Phillies and the NHL Flyers. The Philadelphia Sports Complex already draws 8.5 million visitors per year.
The project is expected to generate 3,000 direct and indirect jobs, with the Stadium Casino partners committed to supporting local and regional businesses, MBE/WBE and veteran-owned business, and long-term contracts with local vendors. The partners have predicted that the casino will attract 4 million incremental visitors per year to the market, with more than $400 million a year in annual economic benefits.
The project is predicted to generate gross gaming revenues of more than $300 million annually, or more than $1.6 billion in its first five years of operation, translating into state and local taxes of more than $130 million a year.
“The size and scope of the project will only serve to enhance the Philadelphia gaming and tourism market, while providing substantial benefit to the local community,” said Tony Ricci, CEO of Greenwood Racing. “Beyond the local construction jobs, this project will have a positive impact on local, MBE/WBE and veteran-owned businesses that will provide goods and services to the casino hotel destination.”
While the Planning Board OK means construction could begin, it will not until a suit filed by a competitor, Rush Street Gaming’s SugarHouse in Philadelphia, is resolved. The suit will be considered by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
Previously, Rush Street attorney John Donnelly told the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board that the claim that the Philadelphia Live! casino would expand the market is bogus.
“The false premise is that there’s a lost tribe of gamers somewhere in the mid-Atlantic states, and by building a location or a facility, that lost tribe is going to finds its way and start gambling,” said Donnelly.
