Australian gambling operator Echo Entertainment has threatened to bring its long-standing rival Crown Resorts to court, as it does not approve of the way owner James Packer has managed to push through an expansion of its A$2-billion integrated resort in Barangaroo, Sydney.
According to the latest information, Crown Sydney’s hotel facility is expected to be launched sometime in 2018. As for the casino, it is to have its official opening a year later.
Echo submitted a statement to the New South Wales Department of Planning and Environment saying that it was concerned about the creeping expansion Crown suggests with the latest proposed modification. According to it, the latter company’s venue is to have its floor and height expanded. Echo, however, believes that this might hamper the state planning authorities in their assessment of the impact the project might have on the environment.
The gambling operator, which currently manages Sydney’s only casino – The Star, also called for an assessment of the social impact, as this would provide more information about the environmental aspects of Crown’s expansion proposal.
In its submission to the Department of Planning and Environment, Echo also included a legal assessment, according to which the modifications proposed by Crown could be subjected to Class 4 proceedings.
Earlier today, the government of New South Wales released 30 similar submissions. The state had accepted those in order to give state residents the opportunity to formally express their opinion about Crown’s integrated resort project.
Rowen Craigie, Chief Executive Officer of Crown Resorts, commented on Echo’s move as an attempt to delay the launch of their hotel and casino property. Thus, Echo would protect The Star’s monopoly on the Sydney VIP gambling market for a longer time.
Crown’s latest modification of the proposed plan for the construction of its Barangaroo property included an increase in its height to 275 meters as well as in its density.
A spokesperson for real estate developer Lend Lease, which is in charge of the project, commented that the company will review all the submissions and will answer to all the questions raised to the New South Wales Department of Planning and Environment.
According to MP Alex Greenwich, Crown’s expansion proposal served private interests and not public ones. He reminded that the original plan for the construction of Crown Sydney suggested that buildings would be placed in a manner that would allow people access to the waterfront. However, if the latest proposal is approved by New South Wales officials, a hotel would be built on the water. This, in turn, would result in the privatization of the harbor.
