MGM Springfield officials, led by President Michael Mathis, provided the latest quarterly report, through Sept. 30, to the Gaming Commission during a meeting held in Springfield at the MassMutual Center. The meeting followed commission members taking part in a guided walking tour of the casino site just a block away.
Commission Chairman Stephen Crosby, who had praised MGM after the tour for “extraordinary” progress in the project, also praised the latest quarterly report and said the numbers being shown in diversity hiring are “incredible.”
Hiring of minorities for the project was listed at 26.2 percent as of Sept. 27, compared with the project goal of 15.3 percent, according to MGM Springfield. Hiring of women was at 9.27 percent compared with the goal of 6.9 percent, and hiring of veterans was at 9.44 percent compared with the project goal of 8 percent, according to MGM.
The Massachusetts Gaming Commission toured the 14-acre MGM Springfield casino project and praised the progress including rising steel frames, concrete and foundations.
Brian Packer, MGM vice president of construction and development, said 90 companies have been involved in design, consulting and construction to date, with the list showing MGM doing a “good job of getting regional companies to participate.”
Of 58 construction companies hired by the end of September under a competitive bidding process, 35 are from Massachusetts and six are from Connecticut, Packer said. That work runs the gamut from electrical, steel, metal work, trucking, drywall, carpets, insulation, roofing and land surveying, according to the list.
Also during the meeting, Springfield Chief Development Officer Kevin Kennedy provided a report and a short video that summarized many of the economic development projects going on in Springfield, ranging from the $93 million Union Station redevelopment to the $950 million casino project.
Local owners of the new Springfield Thunderbirds hockey team, including Paul Picknelly, said that the active involvement of top MGM officials and the casino project itself helped save professional hockey in Springfield after the former team, the Falcons, moved to Arizona.
Both Mathis and MGM Resorts President Bill Hornbuckle became involved in discussions immediately, Picknelly said.
In the latest quarterly report, MGM Springfield stated that its expenses through September include $102 million spent on construction and design, $49.5 million spent on land, $11.4 million for off-site improvements, $85 million for license and application fees, $39.4 million for pre-opening expenses/host community costs, and $10.7 million on finance costs/capitalized interest, for a total of $298 million.
The casino is scheduled to open in September of 2018. Beyond its $950 million cost estimate, the project also has budgeted a contingency of $35 million to $41.8 million.