MGM Resorts Announces Plans To Develop Downtown Springfield Dining, Retail, Entertainment District And Submits $400,000 Fee To Gaming Commission

SPRINGFIELD, Mass., Aug. 22, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- MGM Resorts International's Chairman and CEO Jim Murren today unveiled plans to develop an $800 million world-class dining, retail and entertainment district on about 10 acres of land heavily damaged by the June 2011 tornado in Downtown Springfield.

MGM's Springfield plan envisions a revived Main Street area with people walking along vibrant tree-lined streets overflowing with restaurant choices, a variety of shopping options for everyone in the family, an outdoor stage, movie theaters, a casino and hotel that all respect and feed off of the area's existing iconic architecture. The concept for a central downtown retail and entertainment district also includes a pedestrian bridge between the MGM project and the MassMutual Center.

The announcement came as MGM submitted its $400,000 application fee to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC). The non-refundable application fee will go to both the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the City of Springfield to fund the vetting and negotiating process that MGM hopes will result in a world-class destination resort in Springfield.

While the new Massachusetts gaming law does not require that the application fee be submitted until later this year when the first MGC filing is due, MGM issued its check early, along with its certification of intent to apply, as a good faith sign of MGM's commitment to Springfield.

Murren said, "We believe this is a significant demonstration of our desire to partner with Springfield and it gives the MGC and the city the resources they need to move forward during this groundbreaking phase for a new industry in Massachusetts."

The MGM Springfield project would be developed on three city blocks located just 200 feet off Interstate 91, a popular North/South connector running from Connecticut to Vermont, only a few miles from the Massachusetts Turnpike. The blocks, where the devastation from last year's tornado is still visible today, run between Union and State streets, and Columbus Avenue and Main Street. MGM controls several land parcels in the proposed development area, with many others under contract.

MGM Springfield would create thousands of permanent direct jobs as well as more than 2,000 construction-related jobs and thousands of additional indirect jobs. MGM Springfield would generate millions in annual tax revenues.

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