With a newly bustling market, Station Casinos, based in Las Vegas, finally pulled the trigger on a Reno casino, 10 years after acquiring two plots of land it has been considering at that time for gaming.
But then the recession hit, competition to the Reno market ramped up, and Station Casinos was distracted by corporate sales and re-sales. But when Reno began to diversify its economy with the introduction of the Tesla battery factory and other non-gaming elements, the city became an attractive gaming market again.
The site Station has decided to redevelop is across from the Reno-Sparks Convention Center on South Virginia Street. The 8-acre site was condemned by the city in 2004 as part of a plan to build a railroad trench through the center of the town, a plan that never was realized. While the site is fully approved for gaming, it needs a special permit for the city, for which Station applied last week. It will also file an application with the Nevada Gaming Control Board to relocate the non-restricted Turf Club license, which Station owns, and relocate that license to the S. Virginia Street site. And because it’s non-restricted and such a small site, there will only be gaming offered at the site, no hotel.
Some of the details of the development are:
• $50 to $70 million project budget
• 350 construction jobs
• 150-200 jobs upon completion
• 84,000 square foot gaming and entertainment facility
• 24/7 bistro-style café with outdoor dining and two quick-serve outlets
• State-of-the-art sports book and sports bar featuring large-format LED screens and mobile sports-wagering kiosks.
A Reno city councilman told the Reno Gazette Journal that he had seen plans for a bowling alley and movie theatre at the site, as well.
While no timeline was presented by Station in its proposal, Lori Nelson, spokeswoman for Station Casinos, said the company was excited about the market.
“We look forward to working with the city and state to secure the approvals necessary to build a high-quality gaming facility,” she said.
Station also owns a larger parcel of land off Reno’s Mount Rose Parkway, south of the city. There was no word about whether that will be developed anytime soon.
