“And then come to Springfield to gamble.” “You can go to a Yard Goats game,” Kennedy said, referring to Hartford’s new minor league baseball team. Kennedy acknowledges the power MGM will have in drawing visitors to Springfield, but he says it doesn’t have to put Hartford at odds with its neighbor to the north, and could bolster regional marketing efforts. MGM also pushed back the expected opening by a year because of work planned nearby for I-91, a major route to the casino and entertainment complex. Last fall, MGM made major changes to the plan that angered local officials, including the elimination of a 25-story hotel tower, as the project’s costs - all privately financed - jumped from $800 million to $950 million. The plans also include three banquet rooms, the largest encompassing 12,000 square feet a seven-screen movie theater a 10-lane bowling alley nearly two dozen shops, restaurants and bars rooftop gardens and a 250-room hotel.Ī massive parking garage spanning two city blocks will accommodate 3,400 vehicles.Īll has not gone smoothly, however. The vision is a grand one: a casino floor covering nearly 3 acres, with an estimated 3,000 slot machines, 75 table games, a poker room and a high-limit area. MGM still needs final approvals from Springfield and the Massachusetts Gaming Commission but work has been underway for months.
He adds: “We all have to recognize what is happening here.
