Kansas Entertainment, a partnership between Kansas Speedway and principals of Baltimore-based The Cordish Company, resubmitted a bid yesterday for a Hard Rock Casino overlooking Turn 2 at Kansas Speedway.
The overall proposal calls for an approximately USD 700 million entertainment destination to include a first-class casino, hotel, spa, convention center and entertainment/retail district. The initial phase of the project will be a first-class Hard Rock-branded casino with an overall budget of approximately USD 390 million, and which will include a 9,290 sqm casino floor, high-energy center bar, and dining and entertainment options.
Kansas Entertainment has also committed as part of its proposal to donate an additional one percent of its gaming revenues to the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas. for use in charitable and civic causes. This is in addition to the statutory taxes payable to the State and local governments.
As part of the proposal, Kansas Speedway’s parent company, International Speedway Corporation, will also petition NASCAR for a second NASCAR Sprint Cup Series date for the track if Kansas Speedway and The Cordish Company are awarded the casino management contract for Wyandotte County.
Additionally, if awarded the management contract, Kansas Speedway officials have committed to building a road course in the infield of the facility and ISC will petition Grand-Am Road Racing to award Kansas Speedway sports car races. Kansas Speedway has also committed two free track-side billboards to the state of Kansas to promote tourism if awarded the casino management contract for Wyandotte County.
“We are committed to bringing a world-class destination casino to Wyandotte County and Kansas Speedway,” said Kansas Speedway President Jeff Boerger. “With the addition of a Hard Rock Casino and the potential for a second NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway, our project is uniquely capable of maximizing tourism, tax dollars and national and international media attention for both the state of Kansas and Wyandotte County.”
”We are tremendously excited to bring this unique entertainment attraction to Kansas and the Kansas Speedway,” commented Joseph Weinberg, a Managing Partner at Cordish. “Our firm’s development capabilities, combined with ISC’s national reach and the power of the Hard Rock brand, will make this a transformative development for the region. As we have demonstrated throughout the country, our firm is uniquely capable of delivering casino destinations in regional markets that exceed all expectations. We demonstrated this in Florida with our two highly successful Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino developments, and again this year in Indiana with the opening of the Indiana Live! casino. In addition, the Cordish Gaming Operations team, led by Partner/CEO Dennis Gomes, is second to none.”