After a years-long approval process, the New York State Gaming Commission has officially awarded gaming licenses to casinos at Resorts World and Metropolitan Park in Queens and at Bally’s in the Bronx.
The Metropolitan Park casino, a combined effort between Hard Rock International and New York Mets’ owner Steve Cohen, paves the way for an $8.1 billion complex that will see the conversion of 50 acres surrounding Citi Field into “New York’s next great sports and entertainment destination,” according to a Metropolitan Park announcement following the commission’s decision. The project will produce “25 acres of new public park space, 23,000 union jobs, and over $1.75 billion in community benefits and infrastructure improvements,” the announcement said.
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The area will see the introduction of a Hard Rock Hotel; a 5,650-capacity, theater-style venue for live entertainment; park space, athletic fields and playgrounds that will represent “more new park and community space than Bryant Park, the High Line and Union Square Park combined;” and a “complete transformation” of the 7 train’s Mets-Willets Point station, according to the announcement.
This effort will also see the development of an all-affordable housing project with 450 new housing units.
“Since the day I bought the team, the community and Mets fans have made it clear to me that we can and should do better with the area around the ballpark,” Cohen said in the announcement. “Now, we are going to be able to deliver the sports and entertainment district that our fans have been asking for.”
The Bally’s casino, slated for Ferry Point Park in the Bronx, will be a $4 billion effort set to include a 500-room hotel, a 2,000-seat event center, a nightclub and a spa, as well as new food and beverage outlets and retail shops. An existing golf course designed by golf legend Jack Nicklaus will also be part of the complex.
Bally’s effort is scheduled to create $765 million in local benefits, including “infrastructure and transit upgrades, funding for schools and organizations, NYPD substations and more,” according to the Bronx Times.
Bally’s Chairman Soo Kim previously shared with the Times that construction would begin immediately, and should be completed ahead of a previously declared mid-2030 timeline.
The Resorts World casino in Jamaica, Queens, will see an expansion of an existing racino near Aqueduct Racetrack that already featured over 5,800 slot machines and electronic table games.
The casino’s owner, the Genting Group, had proposed a $7.5 billion investment in the project to include a new 1,600-room hotel, an arena, and more than 30 new restaurants and bars, according to Bloomberg. They also offered the state a 56 percent levy on revenue from slot machines, the highest percentage of the three new casinos.
“Resorts World New York City thanks the New York State Gaming Commission for today’s final approval,” Robert DeSalvio, president of Genting Americas East, said in a statement. “We look forward to opening within months as New York City’s first full commercial casino.”
The commission made clear that each company must appoint an external monitor for at least five years to ensure that all the promised community benefits see the light of day.
The three projects are expected to bring substantial tax revenue to New York State.
“Using conservative assumptions, the board’s consultants projected incremental annual gaming tax revenue of nearly $1 billion in 2036, totaling approximately $7 billion between 2027 and 2036 plus $1.5 billion in licensing fees, with additional state and local taxes, hotel occupancy and others projected to generate approximately $5.9 billion,” Greg Reimers, a member of the New York Gaming Facility Location Board, explained during that board’s Dec. 1 approval of the three projects, as Commercial Observer reported at the time. “No alternative scenarios produce comparable revenue or fiscal benefits. Each project proposes to deliver substantial community benefits, including infrastructure and transit improvements.”
As with that vote, detractors of the legal gaming facilities screamed in disapproval as today’s licenses were granted, shouting “Shame on you!” at the board members, according to Yahoo News.
But some local politicians could not have disagreed more.
“From the first blueprints to the final vote, the pocket aces that are Metropolitan Park and Resorts World have both embodied what it means to be community-centered, with each offering unparalleled neighborhood benefits packages that will strengthen our physical and societal infrastructure,” Queens Borough President Donovan Richards said in a statement once the vote from the seven-member board was finalized.
Larry Getlen can be reached at lgetlen@commercialobserver.com.
