A Hard Rock Opening Act recently debuted in Rockford, Illinois—the 37,000-square-foot temporary casino that will operate inside the former Giovanni’s Restaurant and Convention Center for two years while the permanent facility is built at the former Clock Tower site near the I-90 exit/entrance ramp.
The venue offers more than 625 slots and Inter block electronic table games, as well as two restaurants and a retail store featuring Hard Rock’s Rock Shop brand items.
At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Hard Rock International Chief Operating Officer Jon Lucas said, “We knew from day one that Rockford was the best fit for our casino, thanks to their energy and passion for this project as well as our great working relationship with local leaders. As this project moved forward, we made it a priority to bring on new vendors and team members from the greater Rockford area to further ingrain ourselves in this community and reaffirm the commitment we made from day one to be an active member of this region for years to come.”
State Senator Dave Syverson added, “It’s done in a classy way that Hard Rock does things. And that’s why we’re so excited about having a brand like Hard Rock. This will be the only one in the state of Illinois and we’re lucky to get it. Working all these years, it’s exciting to know we’ve got this venue and that we’ve beat Wisconsin to it. We just hope we can get the permanent site open as well so we can attract Wisconsin people down to Illinois.” Syverson was referring to a huge entertainment project planned for Beloit, just north of the Illinois state line, featuring a casino, hotel, convention center and waterpark. Preliminary work is scheduled t to start soon, but no construction date has been announced.
Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara added, “When you look at this amazing development, you hired local Rockfordians, you followed through, you used local contractors, local minority contractors and you did it so well, I just want to say thank you to your commitment to our community.”
Analysts estimate first-year casino revenue could reach $2 million, and the permanent facility could generate $7 million annually. The first $1.5 million is earmarked for the Rockford Promise program. McNamara explained, “If you live in the city of Rockford, your children go to Rockford public schools and they work really hard and earn a 3.0 GPA, we are actually paying for them to go to Northern Illinois university tuition in general fee free and the city covers those costs.”
