Developer Gorman & Company Inc. has come forward with interest in building a casino in downtown Rockford, Illinois, local news outlets report.
The company is currently developing Embassy Suites Hotel and Rockford Conference Center in the heart of the city and is seeking partners for a casino located on a 13-acre site just south of its downtown establishment.
Rockford is one of the six locations that will possibly see a new casino under a sweeping gambling expansion legislation signed into law by Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker earlier this summer.
The Chairman of Gorman & Company, Gary Gorman, said Monday that the company has an option under contract to acquire property south of the hotel complex it is currently building. Mr. Gorman went on to reveal that his plans for the new site include the development of an entertainment complex and a casino that will be linked to the hotel via pedestrian walkways.
The potential casino will also be linked to a nearby train station that is hoped to bring patrons from Chicago.
Speaking with local media, Mr. Gorman said that academic data shows that “casinos are most successful when part of an integrated entertainment, restaurant and activity district, creating a critical mass.”
The Gorman & Company Chairman also revealed that he is in talks with five casino operators that have expressed interest in building and operating a downtown Rockford casino.
Downtown or I-90 Casino?
While no formal proposals have been submitted with city officials yet, Gorman & Company has become the second company to reveal plans to bid for the Rockford casino license.
Florida-based gaming and hospitality company Hard Rock International unveiled earlier this month its vision for a Rockford casino, indicating that it would likely be among the bidders for the right to operate such a property in the city.
Unlike Gorman & Company, which favors a downtown site for its gambling property, Hard Rock said it would build its casino complex at the site of the former Clock Tower Resort at East State Street and I-90.
The site is believed to be the front-runner in the race for the location of the city’s casino as many feel the area is where a facility of this kind would generate the most revenue for the state and local governments.
While Mr. Gorman acknowledged Hard Rock “made an early splash” with its casino proposal, he pointed out that city officials will consider a number of factors aside from the property’s location, including jobs creation, the synergy that a riverfront casino near a downtown hotel would offer, and the $275 million earmarked for the re-establishment of the Rockford-Chicago train service – part of which could be fueled by their new casino.
Interested companies will be able to submit their casino proposals to city officials until mid-August. The city will then vet all responses between August 19 and September 13. Rockford residents will be given the chance to voice their opinion on the matter at a public hearing scheduled for September 23.
The City Council will then certify the proposals submitted and will file those with the Illinois Gaming Board by September 30. The state gambling regulator will be the one to choose the winning bidder for the Rockford casino license.
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