SugarHouse, Parx and Harrah’s are about to have that much more competition in Philadelphia as Live! Casino and Hotel is set to open a $700 million property by the end of 2020.
The mammoth building will be located in walking distance to Citizens Bank Park, giving Parx’s South Philadelphia Turf Club sportsbook competition on the same block.
The close proximity to the South Philadelphia Sports Complex should benefit Live! Casino immensely.
“The new Live! Casino & Hotel spearheads the transformation of the Philadelphia Stadium District into an integrated sports, entertainment and casino resort destination,” a statement from Live! Casino & Hotel said. “The project sits adjacent to Xfinity Live!, the highly successful dining, entertainment, and hospitality destination developed and owned in partnership between The Cordish Companies and Comcast Spectator … The opening of the $700 million casino resort destination will transform the Philadelphia Stadium District into the only place in the country to experience big league action from four major professional sports teams, best-in-class dining and entertainment, and world class gaming and hotel accommodations.”
As a comp, the top physical sportsbook in New Jersey – FanDuel – operates in the shadow of MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford and the top retail shop in the state of Pennsylvania is Rivers Casino – which is steps from Heinz Field in Pittsburgh.
Even with online sports betting about to kick off in Pennsylvania, industry experts believe the physical books will still get plenty of traffic.
“Retail will always be a viable part of our success,” FanDuel President and COO Kip Levin told MetroBet last month. “There’s a healthy social aspect at a physical sportsbook as people want to be there with their friends.”
Surely a traditional casino atmosphere will lend itself well to Live’s sportsbook as well. Live! is projected to have 2,200 slot machines, 125 table games and over 200 hotel rooms.
Officials for the casino say that it will create approximately 2,000 new direct and indirect jobs as well.
Live! is owned and managed by Stadium Casino LLC, which is an affiliate of The Cordish Companies.
