MGM Is Making a Major Move in Massachusetts

August 22, 2012 at 6:13 PM | by juliana | Comments (0)

Leave it to MGM Resorts Interntaional to bring us back down to earth after getting a little lightheaded over Prince Harry's heinie.

The casino conglomerate announced this morning plans to build an $800 million entertainment, retail and dining "district" on about 10 acres of land in downtown Springfield, Massachusetts.

These plans include a 25-story, 250-room hotel; 89,000 square feet of gaming space; nearly 70,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space and a multi-level parking garage. Additionally, the retail and entertainment district, called "Armory Square", would provide another 130,000 square feet of places to shop, dine and hang out, including going bowling, catching a movie or taking in a play.

And, MGM Springfield would also include one and two-bedroom residences for "young professionals working in a revived downtown entertainment district."

While the MGM Springfield plans are rather grand and while there's even a fully fleshed-out website to hype the development, the whole thing is still subject to city and state approval. Nevertheless, MGM has already forked over the $400,000 application fee to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission as a good-faith sign of its commitment to the project, i.e. if this sucker gets passed, MGM is going to build it.

In case you aren't keeping track, MGM Resorts so far has announced projects in DC, Toronto and now Springfield. While the Springfield project sounds the most ambitious, we can't help but think of that scene in "Wayne's World" where they are goofing off with the green screen --"Imagine being magically whisked away to...Springfield. Hi, I'm in Springfield." But, what can we say, we just love Vegas more. After all, is Prince Harry going to go buckwild in Springfield? We don't think so.

[Photo: MGM Springfield]

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