MGM Resorts and Cadillac Fairview release their vision for a Toronto Casino Project

One of the many suitors who would like to develop a casino in the City of Toronto have unwrapped their plans.  MGM Resorts International and The Cadillac Fairview Corporation Limited released renderings of the proposed Integrated Resort on the Exhibition Place grounds on Wednesday.

The massive a plans call for a three-million-square-foot development that includes retail space, a casino and a 15- to 20- storey hotel. The plan has all this placed on the fairgrounds where the annual midway is traditionally held.  Additional seating at the stadium and a planned second floor on the Direct Energy Centre are also part of the renderings.

There is no guarantee that a casino will even get the go ahead from city council  but the joint venture group is making their push for an Exhibition located development.

“No other property has such great potential to benefit the City and people of Toronto like Exhibition Place,” said Alan Feldman, senior vice president of public affairs at MGM Resorts.  “An integrated resort is a means to achieving so much more. Torontonians have a once in a generation opportunity to seize substantial and long-term private investment that can then be used to help their City leap forward on issues they believe are most important. As part of our proposal, we’re incorporating public significant enhancements directly into the plan.  What Toronto City Council decides to do with the further tens of millions of dollars in additional annual revenue, is limited only by imagination.”

If this plan were to go through it would mean approximately 10,000 new sustainable jobs for the city.

This vision also includes a permanent Cirque du Soleil experience on site and plans to enhance Molson Amphitheatre making it a year-round venue.  The plans also include a  new route for Toronto Indy on the Exhibition Place grounds.

As an olive branch to the annual CNE, the group is proposing to bankroll the event for a decade, reimbursing the fair for the revenue it would lose from the small casino it now runs. It would also give the CNE enough money to “remove the turnstiles” and eliminate admission fees to the grounds, an offer that amounts to “several million dollars a year,” MGM spokesman Alan Feldman said.

The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. has made no secret of their desire to add a new casino to the Toronto area, but the province has said it will not force one on an unwilling community.

SOURCE: Cadillac Fairview Corporation Limited