MGM Interested In Bader Field?

Courtesy of Press of Atlantic City:

MGM may want to roll the dice at Bader Field
By DONALD WITTKOWSKI Staff Writer, 609-272-7258
Published: Wednesday, October 31, 2007


ATLANTIC CITY - Gaming giant MGM Mirage Inc., which already plans to build a $5 billion megaresort that would redefine the Atlantic City market, put itself in line Tuesday to develop another major site if the land is rezoned for casinos.
While other gaming companies are opposed to opening up Bader Field for casino development, MGM's chief executive would like to see the 140-acre former municipal airport transformed into a casino attraction.
"If and when the governor, the City Council and the other powers that be determine that is an area that could be developed into resort casino development, we would be very interested in it," said Terry Lanni, MGM's chairman and chief executive officer.
Lanni's comments, made during an MGM conference call to discuss the company's third-quarter earnings, likely will put intense pressure on political leaders to reach agreement on Bader's redevelopment. Already, Las Vegas casino mogul Steve Wynn has promised to build a massive casino resort if he is given control of the site.
Alluding to Wynn, Lanni said he is concerned about press reports that suggest the city has already anointed Wynn as its preferred developer, although no decisions have been made while political debate continues on Bader Field's future.
"If I read the press, it just seems like one company has been assigned that particular site, and I think that's a mistake, because I know a number of us who are interested in that site," Lanni said, without divulging the names of other possible developers.
At the same time, some casino companies are vigorously opposed to converting Bader into a casino site. Dan Lee, chairman and CEO of Pinnacle Entertainment Inc., has threatened to abandon his company's plans for a $1.5 billion gaming resort on the site of the old Sands Casino Hotel if Bader is approved for casinos.
Lanni argued that opponents should not fear the extra competition. Combined with new casino projects across town in the Marina District, Bader's redevelopment could dramatically reshape Atlantic City into more of a Las Vegas-style tourist destination that would brush aside competition from the modest slot parlors in Pennsylvania, he said.
"If we have a must-see site that is a destination resort ... we believe that will more than offset what is happening in Pennsylvania," Lanni said. "To date, as you know, Pennsylvania has slot houses, basically."
Pennsylvania's slot parlors are largely to blame for a nearly 5 percent drop in Atlantic City gaming revenue in the first nine months this year. If trends hold, 2007 will represent the first annual decline in revenue since casino gambling began in 1978.
Meanwhile, MGM's interest in Bader Field comes as the company is moving forward with plans for a $4.5 billion to $5 billion project in the Marina District that would be the city's largest and most expensive casino ever.
The 3,000-room development, expected to open in 2012, will rise on a 72-acre site next to Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, which MGM jointly owns with Boyd Gaming Corp. The posh Borgata, the top-grossing casino, has proved that the market is ready for affluent New York customers who previously rejected Atlantic City as too mundane, Lanni said.
"Atlantic City has one opportunity to develop destination resorts that are second to none," he said. "They're the premier resorts on the East Coast and they would attract the New York rejectors as well as people from the Philadelphia marketplace."
MGM's proposed casino would cater to a more upscale crowd by offering an array of high-end retail shops, restaurants and entertainment to complement the gaming action. Lanni noted that MGM has reserved 12 acres of the site for possible development of luxury condominiums.
"We will build a destination resort that will keep people coming to Atlantic City and staying for a lot longer period of time than they have in the past," he said.
While most of his remarks focused on Bader Field and the company's $5 billion casino project, Lanni also noted that MGM is considering offers for a 14-acre parcel it owns next to Trump Marina Hotel Casino. He said the value of the site has grown tremendously because of MGM's casino plans across the street in the Marina District.
"There is significant interest in outright purchasing, a joint venture, anything you can possibly name," Lanni said.
MGM currently is embroiled in a court fight with a would-be condo developer who wanted to buy the 14 acres, but failed, and then sued to try to gain ownership. A Superior Court judge ruled in MGM's favor in February, but the developer has appealed.
"We won the original case, but it's on appeal, so it's probably more prudent for us to wait through the legal process before we do anything," Lanni explained of the development options.
To e-mail Donald Wittkowski at The Press:
DWittkowski@pressofac.com

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Parece que MGM Miragem é interessada em mais Bader Field. MGM diretor geral Terri Lanni Diz que são interessados em edifício aí deve a possibilidade surge. . pessoalmente eu espero que Steve Wynn recebe a propriedade!