MGM Springfield: 2014

MGM celebration party at the Basketball Hall of Fame. A lot of politicians, business people, and media figures were in attendance. The event was being live streamed to MGM in vegas where they were anticipating the vote on question 3.

About

For a few years now there has been rumors of someone coming into this area and building a casino. Donald Trump actually flirted with the idea five or six years ago. His plan was to buy out the Holyoke Mall and turn int into a big casino complex. Eventually Springfield became a target of MGM which is a huge company. Springfield has been in need of revitalization for a very long time, it was once a great American city but in the last couple of decades has experience wide scale gang violence, and drug abuse, and especially economic decline. Following the tornadoes of 2011 MGM began negotiating with the state and city government to start a casino project in Springfield. After getting approval from both city and state residents they did finally start breaking ground on the project just last month after the state voted no on question 3. The hope is that this project will revitalize the city, bring jobs to the area, as well as grade A entertainment. And it hopes to revitalize a once vibrant city, with all of these new businesses.

What will the hotel/resort area consist of?

For those of you who do like to gamble, and enjoy the party atmosphere that casino's have to offer you love what MGM has to offer. The hotel/resort area is going to cover about 15 acres of land spanning over 3 blocks. The hotel will consist of 25 floors with 250 rooms. There is going to be an outdoor garden and a roof deck. 125,000 square feet will be dedicated towards gaming, and 48,000 square feet dedicated to restaurants. And there will also be a 3,600 space parking lot located just 200 feet from the highway.

What will this project consist of besides a Casino Complex?

For those who do not enjoy gambling, there still will be a lot you can do once this project is complete. There is going to be a 165,000 square foot retail, dining, and entertainment area between Union and Howard Street. This district will feature an outdoor stage for live entertainment, as well as a cinema that will be 50,000 square feet and contain 12 screens. The district will have both casual and formal dining areas and a lot of fashion and sports retailers as well.

Will this be good for Springfield?

There are definitely some possible negative consequences that could arise out of this situation. But I believe it is worth a shot given the fact that Springfield has become such a dilapidated city. MGM is really the only company that has been willing to come in and invest hundreds of millions of dollars into this project. It's not only going to be a casino complex, there will also be an entertainment district, a whole bunch of new dining establishments set up. MGM will have its own small village set up downtown. And since there is no real alternative being proposed for Springfield, I think that this is needed to at least try and help revitalize the city and put it back on the map.

How many jobs is this going to provide?

MGM Springfield pledges that once this project is complete in the summer of 2015, there will be three thousand permanent jobs available at the resort casino. In addition to the 3,000 permanent jobs there will also be 2,000 jobs in construction during the building of this project. Not to mention that there will be an estimated $50 million a year spent on local businesses in the area, which will provide a much needed boost to the economy in Springfield. MGM is also going to partner up with local community colleges like STCC, and HCC to start programs that can prepare students for jobs in the casinos once they graduate.

Glimpse of the future

http://www.mgmspringfield.com/videos/springfield.aspx

Supporters of the Casino construction come out in front of town hall in order to urge voters to vote no on question 3. Springfield voters previously had approved construction of the Casions/Resort. It was put up to a state wide vote in the 2014 midterm elections. Massachusetts residents voted no on question 3 which would have expanded prohibitions on gaming in Massachusetts, and prevented MGM from building their casino in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Mayor of Springfield Domenic Sarno, signs an agreement with MGM. The agreement allows them to build their resort casino in the city of Springfield. The project promises to bring in thousands of contruction jobs, and thousands of permanent jobs at the resort casinos once they are complete. The mayor hopes that this new project will help to revitalize the city's image, and put Springfield back on the map.

A press conference is held in front of the new MGM Springfield Office. The office is open during the day to anyone who wants to walk in and ask questions about the project. The office contains a lot of information about what exactly is going to be built and how it will affect the downtown areas of Springfield. There is a model in the showcase window displaying what MGM hopes to build in Springfield. There is also several televisions that display an virtual walk through of MGM's plans once they are finished.