Operator News
Spain – Madrid government tells Cordish to revise its ‘unviable’ plans
By Phil - 27 March 2017
The Madrid government has kicked out current plans by US operator Cordish Companies to develop a $2.2bn casino close to the capital city, slamming it as ‘unviable.’
It has though said Cordish is free to resubmit if its concerns are addressed.
The operator of huge casinos such as Maryland Live! put forward its blueprint for a hotel and entertainment district in Madrid in December, saying it would create 56,000 jobs.
Having originally welcomed the plan, Madrid’s regional government has now ruled it can’t go ahead in its current form.
Madrid’s Minister of Economy, Employment and Finance, Engracia Hidalgo said that after a ‘profound, serious and rigorous’ review of the proposal, the government didn’t think it was ‘viable from an economic and organisational point of view.’
It said that for the project to proceed it would need to be classified as Integral Development Center (CID), an ‘absolutely exceptional’ procedure that grants the developer a series of urban, fiscal and regulatory advantages in terms of land use flexibility and tax advantages. It added that only one CID is approved a decade. is no small decision, as Madrid is only allowed to issue a CID once every 10 years. It estimated that the government would have to spend €340m on road and rail infrastructure to provide access to the out-of-town complex.
The government added that it was ‘open to investment, both domestic and international.’
In response, Cordish removed any mention of the development from its corporate website.
It said: “The government does not understand our application in two major respects. One, we make no requests for any public infrastructure nor any public subsidy by the government and in fact none is needed. Two, we are fully committed to a total build-out of a massive $2.2bn integrated resort.”
Cordish added it was ‘optimistic’ that the government would approve its application.
“The project is extremely important to the regional Madrid economy,” Cordish added. “The shame for the citizens of Spain in any delay is that we are prepared to immediately deliver the project, with construction commencing the second quarter 2018.”
The project, called Live! Resorts Madrid, was initially welcomed by The Head of Madrid city government Cristina Cifuentes back in December. She said that it was “good” news and that it would serve to revitalise the Corredor del Henares an industrial area in the north of the city and help position it as an area for foreign investment.
The development would have been Cordish’s first large-scale resort in Europe.
The gaming floor would have taken up between five per cent and 10 per cent of the total footprint and would have been operated alongside four and five star hotels offering 2,000 rooms, a Broadway type theatre, a circus and acrobatic facility, concert facilities, as well as a comedy club and 16 cinemas including an IMAX Theatre. The resort also aimed to become an international shopping destination with as many as 400 different shops.
