MGM Mirage Adds Name to Foxwoods
Staff -- Tradeshow Week, 5/8/2006
Las Vegas-based MGM Mirage is adding its name to a $700 million expansion of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation's Foxwoods Resort Casino.
Besides an 824-room hotel tower, the project calls for development of 115,000 square feet of meeting space, including a 50,000 sq. ft. ballroom. Four restaurants, three lounges, two nightclubs, a 4,000-seat theater and 50,000 sq. ft. of gaming space are also part of the development, which is scheduled for completion by the summer of 2008.
Located in Mashantucket, Conn., the 14-year-old Foxwoods currently offers 50,000 sq. ft. of meeting space and 1,416 hotel rooms.
The agreement with the tribe calls on MGM Mirage to provide consulting help and technical assistance on the project now under construction, as well as on future resorts both in and outside of Connecticut. MGM Mirage will also provide MPTN with a loan of up to $200 million.
In exchange, MGM Mirage would gain a stronger foothold in the Northeast. The casino company owns and operates 24 properties in Nevada, Mississippi and Michigan, and has investments in four other properties in Nevada, New Jersey, Illinois and the United Kingdom. Among its properties is Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, which includes the nearly 1 million sq. ft. Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas.
With its expansion, MPTN is hoping to make Foxwoods more attractive to the corporate tradeshow market and association shows in the flooring, roofing and other contracting industries.
