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Spain – Catalonia party pledges backing to Tarragona casino

By Phil - 13 December 2017

Member of The Socialists’ Party of Catalonia (PSC) and Candidate for the Presidency of the Generalitat of Catalonia Miquel Iceta Llorens has come out in support of BCN World in Barcelona (now known as the Tourist and Recreation Complex).

The project, located in Vila-seca and Salou (Tarragona), Spain, will consist of a unique combination of hotels and convention areas, with world-class entertainment, dining and shopping.

Speaking at a rally alongside other high-ranking members of the party and local officials at the Palace of Congresses of Tarragona in front of around 500 people, Iceta referred to the controversial project in Tarragona, which has already been on hold for many years. Iceta assured the crowd that the socialist party were the “only ones who believed” in the project and said that if he were elected then he would give the project the go-ahead.

He pointed out that when ex President of the Generalitat of Catalonia Artur Mas was unable to garner enough support from his coalition partners he had reached out for support to the PSC who had in turn called upon the unions and the mayor of Tarragona to help him raise support for the project. Then after Mas was replaced by President Carles Pugidemont in 2016, he too had reached out to the PSC for support for the project “because we are with the workers, we want to represent the people who live from their work, and the most important thing is to generate work and to give opportunity to younger people.”

Iceta said: “We will inaugurate the CRT (Tourist and Recreation Complex) in Vila-Seca and Salou, because in the end I think that the only ones who believe in the project are us.”

New Elections will be held on Thursday, December 21 2017, to elect the 12th Parliament of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia. All 135 seats in the Parliament will be up for election after President Carles Puigdemont fled to Belgium after the failure of his attempt to secure independence for the autonomous Spanish region following a referendum on October 1.

In July, it was revealed that US multinational Hard Rock had plans to invest in a complex that would be built next to the Port Aventura theme park, and would eventually be called Hard Rock Entertainment World. The new complex if approved will consist of a unique combination of hotels and convention areas, with world-class entertainment, dining and shopping. This project is defined through a complete Zoning Plan already approved by the Catalan Government, with a maximum capacity of 745.000 sq. meters for all the different uses and an estimated global investment of €2,000m, including the cost of the land and infrastructures needed, to be developed by phases in the next years.

The casino aims to have 1,200 slot machines and 100 table games. The entertainment destination would have concert capacity in excess of 15,000 people, and a Hard Rock Live performance venue that would host regional and international musical acts and shows. It will also have a Hard Rock Cafe and a Rock Shop, with authentic Hard Rock merchandise.

Hard Rock Entertainment World would bring thousands of new jobs and foreign direct investments to the destination. The minimum investment of phase 1 is expected to exceed $687.8m, and is estimated to create more than 11,500 direct and indirect construction and ongoing jobs along with an economic impact to the region of over $1.4bn.