Hooh, boy. It’s been a roller coaster ride for MGM Springfield over the past few weeks, replete with rejiggered construction timelines, changed plans, and urgent backroom meetings with the mayor’s office. Here are our greatest hits on the casino playlist this week:
Communication Breakdown: MGM CEO Jim Murren and other top executives touched down in Springfield on Oct. 29 to meet with Mayor Domenic Sarno for a discussion on the state of the $800 million project. The closed-door visit came in the wake of public pushback against MGM’s proposed plans to eliminate the 25-story glass hotel tower and to reduce the size of the overall project by 14 percent — which would mean nearly a 40 percent cut in retail space.
In a public statement after the meeting, Murren seemed baffled by concerns raised formally by Sarno (and informally by everyone else), saying that it was “ironic” to be criticized given that “we are building one of the most important developments in the history of your city,” and added that the scaled-down project is still four times “larger and more complicated” than the Basketball Hall of Fame.
We look forward to hearing how we’re defining “complicated” on Nov. 19, when MGM shares details on the proposed changes with the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.
Closing Time: MGM decided not to mention the project scale-back to the city right away, but they also neglected to clearly state to the public that their community office on Main Street is moving to a new address within the project’s footprint. That new community office will be open in January. Not a big deal, really. But local pedestrians beat the company to the announcement when they began to notice last week that the old office hasn’t been open in a month. Photos of the shuttered office swept social media, and MGM had to explain. Given recent tensions, can’t say it was great PR.
No Guarantees: Meanwhile, a few miles south in Connecticut, Windsor Locks selectmen have voted two-to-one against allowing the city to bid for a new casino at Bradley International Airport. The vote would be enough to keep that site free of slots — except for the fact that state representative Peggy Sayers has stated her interest in changing state law so that the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes could discuss this directly with the airport.
It is hard to see the downsides of muscling a casino into Windsor Locks in defiance of the city’s elected officials — at least, it is hard for Peggy Sayers. But local support for an incoming casino isn’t much of a guarantee of success these days — just ask the town of Plainville in eastern Massachusetts.
Revenue at Plainridge Park, which opened this summer as the state’s first casino, has fallen each month since June. Even if fourth-quarter profits hold steady rather than continue to decline, the company looks likely to miss its $200 million annual revenue goal by roughly $15 million.•
How many New England casinos is too many? Send your opinions to hstyles@valleyadvocate.com.
