MGM Springfield’s price tag is nearing $1 billion.
The Massachusetts resort casino that Las Vegas-based MGM Resorts International is building within 10 miles of the Connecticut border is on schedule for a September 2018 opening, company executives told the Massachusetts Gaming Commission on Thursday in Boston.
The total estimated cost of the project now ranges from $989.1 million to $995.9 million, including contingency ranging from $35 million to $41.8 million, according to an MGM presentation that's available on the commission's website, massgaming.com.
More than $482 million in costs have been incurred, including an $85 million licensing fee paid to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
In a quarterly report for the period that ended June 30, MGM Resorts reported this week that the project has “expected development and construction cost of approximately $960 million, excluding capitalized interest and land-related costs.” That figure was up by $95 million, or 11 percent, over the $865 million included in the company’s previous quarterly report filed in May.
“This increase is consistent with construction pricing pressure of which MGM Springfield previously advised the commission,” MGM reported in its presentation to the commission.
Previous quarterly reports outlined a casino with “approximately 3,000 slots and 100 table games including poker ... and a 3,375-space parking garage.”
Wynn Resorts executives updated the commission on the status of Wynn Boston Harbor, the $2.4 billion resort casino under construction in Everett, Mass., outside Boston. It’s on schedule for a June 2019 opening.
The Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes, respective owners of Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun, plan to partner on a third Connecticut casino in East Windsor, north of Hartford, to soften MGM Springfield's impact.
Two Visions For New Hartford Transit Hub That Could Replace Union Station
A new city transportation center — combining train and bus service — would rise along Asylum Street west of Union Station under options starting to take shape as part of the I-84 reconstruction project.
One option would place the transit center on Asylum Street, roughly in the area where I-84 west now passes over Asylum. The second option would place it at the corner of Asylum and Broad streets.
Both alternatives would require reconfiguration of nearby streets, including Farmington Avenue and Garden Street.
The options were outlined Thursday at a meeting of the public advisory committee on the I-84 project. The project aims to replace a two-mile stretch of the highway through Hartford and is expected to cost $3 billion to $5 billion, with construction not beginning until the early or mid-2020s. “These are just initial ideas,” said William Kenworthey, a principal at HOK Group, part of a consulting team hired to create a master plan about 100 acres between Union Station and the corporate campus of The Hartford Financial Services Group. “This is just to get the conversation going.”
The options for the new transportation center are based on the state’s vision for replacing the aging I-84 viaduct with a highway that is slightly below grade but not buried in a tunnel.
The new train and bus complex is necessary because the existing train tracks must be moved to the west to accommodate the highway reconstruction.
The first option would place to the train station along Asylum Street, with elevators and stairs leading to a platform below. The bus terminal would be placed roughly where the parking lot across Spruce Street from Union Station is now located.
That option drew concerns from some committee members who thought it would further intensify traffic on an already busy Asylum Street. That would hurt another goal of the reconstruction: to make the street — a major thoroughfare in and out of the city — more attractive to pedestrians and bicyclists. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE