The Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot tribes launched their search for a Hartford-area casino site Thursday with broad statements about quality and long-term commitment but no hints about whether the chosen site will be East Hartford, Enfield or somewhere in between.
"Obviously, the two tribes want what any buyer would want," Barbara Pearce, president of Pearce Real Estate in Branford, said at a news conference in Hartford. "They want the easiest possible site to develop in the shortest amount of time with the fewest costs, and the most other benefits, such as visibility, proximity to large populations, anything that would make the site desirable to anybody."
Pearce, hired to direct the gathering and evaulation of proposals, was flanked by Kevin Brown, chairman of the Mohegan Tribal Council, and Rodney Butler, chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Council at the news conference in the lobby of the State Office Building on Capitol Avenue. The tribes delivered a copy of the request for proposals Thursday to the state Department of Consumer Protection, which regulates gambling.
Proposals are due Nov. 6, and the tribes say they will pick a location by Dec. 15.
The tribes are in a rush to build a mid-size casino in the capital region to compete against a larger, $800 million development under construction by MGM in Springfield. The MGM project is scheduled to open in the fall of 2018, and, with support from the state legislature, the tribes hope to beat that date by a year or more.
"The process is diligent, transparent and it is underway," Brown said. "We meant to do this, we meant to do this for Connecticut jobs. The process is moving forward, and there isn't a doggone thing about it that's lame."
The tribes envision a casino with 2,000 slot machines and 100 to 150 tables, with an estimated cost of $200 million to $300 million. The goal is to keep casino-goers in Connecticut with a location that provides gaming but not all the glitz and attractions of the state's flagship Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods. The tribes and the state say the effort is to keep revenue and jobs in Connecticut, amid an increasingly competitve gaming industry.
Developers at two locations — Enfield Square mall and the long-shuttered former Showcase Cinemas in East Hartford — have presented detailed proposals with support from their towns. East Windsor and Windsor Locks have also been discussed as possible places for a casino. Windsor, with the region's most successful industrial district along Day Hill Road, has said it's not interested.Earlier this year, the state legislature approved having the Mohegans and Mashantucket Pequots search for a third casino site in Connecticut. The legislature still must give final approval to the plans after a site is selected by the tribes. The state faces a lawsuit from MGM, which said the law setting forth a process for the tribes to pick a site discriminated against other potential casino developers.Construction is expected to take 12 to 15 months.The Mashantucket Pequots and Mohegans officially joined forces three weeks ago — putting aside two decades as fierce gaming competitors — on the Hartford-area casino project. And even since then, a tribe in southeastern Massachusetts — 80 miles northeast of Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods — outlined plans for a $500 million casino in Taunton, which could begin construction next spring.As the tribes search for a site, Pearce said, the owner of the property and the municipality where it is located must sign off on the proposal."We want to make sure both the owner of the property and the municipality that it is in knows that it is being submitted," Pearce said. "That's not binding. It doesn't mean the town will agree to it in the end."Pearce pledged a transparent proposal process, with everyone getting the same information."Meaning, that not only are we sticking to an agressive time schedule, but we're doing everything in writing," Pearce said. "Then, we will post the question and answer on the web site so everyone will have the benefit of the same information.".| < Prev | Next > |
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