Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment (MGE) has disclosed images of its planned integrated resort near Athens, Greece. MGE is facing off with just one other global operator, Hard Rock International, for the right to develop and operate the IR, which will be part of a sprawling €8 billion (US$8.84 billion) development at the abandoned Hellenikon International Airport.
For 18 years, lawmakers have planned and then delayed plans to transform the neglected site. An “urban park” there is expected to include convention facilities and a casino with at least 1,200 slot machines and a minimum of 120 table games, as well as a luxury hotel, entertainment venues and a sports center. The destination is projected to be an economic gamechanger in the area and a linchpin for growth supported by the New Democracy government, which succeeded the former ruling Radical Left Syriza and its anti-foreign business elements.
The two confirmed contenders are Mohegan Gaming and Hard Rock International, both U.S.-based tribal corporations. The new conservative government has promised that the winning bidder will be named next month.
Sounding confident in a recent interview, Mohegan Gaming CEO Mario Kontomakeros said his company’s raring to go. “We’re ready to begin as soon as we receive all the necessary approvals,” he said. “We want to start as fast as possible.”
He said construction of the resort, to be called Inspire Athens, will take 24 to 36 months to complete. Renderings of Inspire show two skyscrapers that bring to mind the Caryatids, female sculptures used to support a temple on Acropolis Hill.
The development is designed to boost tourism growth and economic prosperity for Greece. The iconic design of the building was created by Steelman Partners.
“It is our hope that Inspire Athens would be the catalyst that sparks the entire development of the Hellinikon area into the coveted Athenian Riviera, forever redefining the modern identity of Greece,” said Kontomerkos. “Our overarching design was meant to be iconic in nature, yet characterize Athens’s historic architecture and rich culture while adopting a new stylistic narrative that inspires the region’s future.”
He pointed with pride to his own heritage as a Greek-American and said the project should create more than 7,000 direct and indirect temporary and gull-time jobs in the region.
The casino resort is projected to increase international tourism in the Attica region by at least 10 percent and contribute millions of euros annually to both the government and the people of Greece in the form of taxes, infrastructure improvement, and public services.
Greece, which has been recovering after a multi-year economic crisis, saw record tourist arrivals in 2018 of 33 million people and expects a similar number this year.
The winner of the tender of the Hellinikon casino, to be built at the former Hellenikon airport close to the Greek capital, will be announced in two months’ time, according to Greek Development & Investments Minister Adonis Georgiadis.
“We are aware that we need new jobs, as well as investments. Hellinikon will represent the Greece we want to create, a Greece that produces wealth. Investments of this kind, implemented with respect to the environment and local communities will change the country,” Georgiadis said.
Hard Rock said it’s putting its best foot forward in its bid. “We have been offering our services to the Greeks for three decades and look forward to making this already strong bond even stronger for many more years,” said John Eder, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Hard Rock International.
Chairman and CEO Jim Allen added, ”We have always believed Athens to be one of the world’s great gateway cities and Hard Rock International envisions creating a must see destination that will help draw from the over 120m annual guests across 74 countries, driving year-round tourism and being an economic driver for Greece. This marks another step in the company’s efforts to expand our world-class brand of entertainment and hospitality to Europe.”
The overall project is being led by Lamda Development plans to turn the disused Hellenikon airport in Greece’s capital into a complex of luxury residences, hotels, a yachting marina and a casino.
