(To read more on the debt and equity markets, click here.)
DETROIT-The Michigan Gaming Control Board has rejected a planned expansion at the Greektown Casino in Detroit, raising concerns over the financing of the project. But the state panel has approved an expansion at the MotorCity casino.
MotorCity's plans to add 100,000 sf of gambling space and an 18-story 400 room hotel at the casino's present location, at the intersection of Grand River and the Lodge expressway in Detroit. The plan also includes a convention area, a 1,200-seat multi use theater, restaurants, bars and 4,400 parking spaces.
"MotorCity looks forward to completing a process that began seven years ago and that Detroit will be proud of," said Gregg Solomon, chief executive of casino owner Detroit Entertainment LLC. The expansion is expected to be finished by 2008 and add an estimated 300 jobs.
A similar expansion plan, which also included financing to restructure debt, was rejected for Greektown Casino, but a casino spokesman said he expects a re-submitted plan to be approved by the end of October.
"We're going to break ground," Greektown spokesman Roger Martin says. "We're going to build our casino. We want to get this done." The gambling board rejected the Greektown Casino's $635 million financing plan, which would produce $175 million to $200 million for an expanded casino, a hotel, parking structure and theater. The rest of the money was to pay off debts to two former owners and refinance other debt.
When first opened in 1998, Detroit's three casinos were said to be "temporary." Since then, plans for the casinos to relocate to "permanent" locations have beenscrapped.
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.
Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
*May exclude premium content© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
