CHICAGO | City Casino

[twister244]

Damn, Yeah Lakeside Center has a lot of potential for sure. I agree with sentinel's position on Chicago having a separate entertainment district. I see no reason why the city can't support it. I just don't see the Tribune site as being the best location for this. I'm not so against it I will be out protesting, but I feel like there's so much more potential with the other sites. I can't wait to see the next round of renderings now from the other bids!

[Kngkyle]

Originally Posted by Randomguy34

If Hard Rock at One Central gets chosen, that's going down as the funniest saga in the city's planning history. Imagine being an urban planning major in 2065 and you read a chapter starting with "The city and state was so desperate for tax revenue from a casino that they gave a development $6.5 billion in tax revenue"

I'd be fine with them getting the casino license in lieu of the $6.5 billion handout.

Lakeside Center is never going to work. The legal battles will be endless. A private casino east of Lakeshore Drive? Not in our lifetimes.

[VKChaz]

Originally Posted by Mister Uptempo

Lakeside Center has a lot going for it. Most likely the gaming floor would be in Exhibition Hall D on Level 3 of Lakeside. 300,000 sq ft with 50 foot ceilings and only 8 support columns to work around-
Add the lobby/ballroom immediately to the south of Hall D, which is connected to the rest of McCormick Place via the SkyBridge, and you add another 50,000 sq ft. At 350,000 sq ft, it would immediately become one of the largest gaming floors in the US, possibly too much gaming floor to start, as a number of gaming positions awarded to the city are intended to be located at O'Hare and Midway.

Despite its size, Hall D, with its massive walls of windows, has a light, airy quality about it. But casino owners do everything within their power to control the players' environment, which means the windows get blacked out or they locate restaurants and lounges around the perimeter, which will have much the same effect. I hope it can be pulled off without Lakeside looking like a mausoleum from the outside.

Having the 4200-seat Arie Crown Theater is another plus, having the potential to draw people into the casino who otherwise might never consider going there. I can recall at Horseshoe in Hammond that whenever there was a performance at The Venue, the table minimums on the main floor were raised about 20 minutes before the house let out.

One drawback I see is that the entrance to Arie Crown is located on Level 2. There is an exhibition space on Level 2, Hall E, but the ceilings are only 15 feet high and is a forest of columns. They'll have to find a way to drive that theater crowd onto the gaming floor. Hall E would be best used for back of house operations.

I'll be interested to see how Bluhm/Rush Street proposes to build a 500-room hotel on site.

I don't know if it is by design, but a Lakeside casino would be somewhat removed from the city. It would generally take concerted effort to get there. For any groups concerned about the lure of the casino on less fortunate people - which is a reasonable concern - that might be appealing. The exception would be Soldier Field and the McCormick crowds, but that is fairly limited and the latter should skew toward travelers except for events like an auto show. I wouldn't think it would attract much in the way of museum crowds. Except for these particular occasions, it could attract fewer local gawkers which might be appealing to a casino that wants space for more serious people.
Besides the hotel, I wonder how signage would work. Offhand, this seems like a stretch, but I will laugh if this happens after a museum was vetoed on a parking lot.

[Randomguy34]

Rendering from the crains article of the renovated Lakeside Center


https://www.chicagobusiness.com/greg-hin...chicago-casino-bids-and-how-bears-factor

[Handro]

Originally Posted by sentinel

C'mon, that's splitting hairs - it's literally across the north branch of the river from River North, it's close enough in terms of proximity.

I'm talking a good distance away, like where McCormick place is located, stretching south on top of the marshalling yards, all the way to 31st St.

Not everyone in the City or even surrounding suburbs wants to be in River North. Why shouldn't Chicago have separate entertainment districts separate from one another? It's clearly big and complex enough to support distinct areas, especially if the demand is there (and it is).

I go out a lot and rarely go to River North, where is the idea that it’s the only “entertainment district” in the city?

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by Kngkyle

I'd be fine with them getting the casino license in lieu of the $6.5 billion handout.

Lakeside Center is never going to work. The legal battles will be endless. A private casino east of Lakeshore Drive? Not in our lifetimes.

This is blunted, I think, by the fact that the building already exists. Nobody's ox is gored by this move - no loss of tailgate space like the Lucas Museum, no removal of a major roadway like Obama Center. It also neatly solves the question of what to do with the Lakeside Center building, since McPier doesn't want it. Not saying there won't be a legal challenge, but I don't think the opposition will be quite as stiff as what the other projects faced.

I doubt McPier could sell to a private entity so it would probably be a 99-year lease or something. Of course, this means a loss of convention space so this would probably have to be bundled with McPier's kooky expansion idea to deck over King Drive and eliminate all of their landscaping/plaza space.

Originally Posted by Mister Uptempo

Lakeside Center has a lot going for it. Most likely the gaming floor would be in Exhibition Hall D on Level 3 of Lakeside. 300,000 sq ft with 50 foot ceilings and only 8 support columns to work around-

Add the lobby/ballroom immediately to the south of Hall D, which is connected to the rest of McCormick Place via the SkyBridge, and you add another 50,000 sq ft. At 350,000 sq ft, it would immediately become one of the largest gaming floors in the US, possibly too much gaming floor to start, as a number of gaming positions awarded to the city are intended to be located at O'Hare and Midway.

Despite its size, Hall D, with its massive walls of windows, has a light, airy quality about it. But casino owners do everything within their power to control the players' environment, which means the windows get blacked out or they locate restaurants and lounges around the perimeter, which will have much the same effect. I hope it can be pulled off without Lakeside looking like a mausoleum from the outside.

I'll be interested to see how Bluhm/Rush Street proposes to build a 500-room hotel on site.

I'm guessing they will indeed put the gaming on the lower level, where they have more flexibility to install theming etc. The upper level would probably remain as exhibition space, maybe with some signature restaurants or a food hall and the valet/arrivals/porte cochere area. Not sure where the hotel would go but certainly McCormick has several large hotels in the complex already. Can Bluhm get away with using the existing hotels? I think the appeal of this plan is that it requires a lot less construction/capex than the ground-up casino proposals, so more profitable.

[left of center]

What's McPier's reasoning for wanting to dump the Lakeside Center? It seems to be in good shape, with huge wide open floor spans and very few support columns?

[galleyfox]

Originally Posted by left of center

What's McPier's reasoning for wanting to dump the Lakeside Center? It seems to be in good shape, with huge wide open floor spans and very few support columns?

It’s reported to need $300 million in repairs especially to the roof. Before the casino proposal, Farpoint was trying to see if it was useable for film production sets. But otherwise it’s a bit of a white elephant.

Keeping Lakeside going over the next 15 years would require nearly $300 million for maintenance, says McPier CEO Lori Healey. Its most pressing and pricey issues are a roof replacement of almost $40 million and expensive concrete patchwork projects. Those aren't worth the money, Healey says, considering that Lakeside's 283,000-square-foot Hall E exhibition space was used just 5 percent of the time last year, mainly by trade shows big enough to need space at all four McCormick Place buildings.

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/...-sets-sights-on-lakeside-center-overhaul

[bnk]

Well you cant take it down east of LSD otherwise friends of the parking lots will never let a replacement take its place, ever

And that 300M cost is supposed to be over 15 years, BTW I have no dog in this fight. I just want maximum opportunity for friendly tourists to lose a 1 K every time they spend half of the week just like Vegas and still have fun doing so

So that said


Im not so sure those marshalling yards have the ability to build an entertainment district around them.


Most here vocal about that site think that only leggioneers and funny old men with fez hats with lots of money will go to this casino.



IMO becides building an entertainment district around the site is to keep it so exclusive and protected a gang cannot establish a protection ring, that could happen in the further south it goes. Its not like Kim Foxx would not just adore that since she is one of the biggest gang banger in entire county of Cook

[Mister Uptempo]

Originally Posted by ardecila

I'm guessing they will indeed put the gaming on the lower level, where they have more flexibility to install theming etc. The upper level would probably remain as exhibition space, maybe with some signature restaurants or a food hall and the valet/arrivals/porte cochere area. Not sure where the hotel would go but certainly McCormick has several large hotels in the complex already. Can Bluhm get away with using the existing hotels? I think the appeal of this plan is that it requires a lot less construction/capex than the ground-up casino proposals, so more profitable.

You are very possibly right about the casino being located on Level 2. The rendering from Crain's (h/t Randomguy34) does indicate the windows in Hall D will remain as they are.

Hall E, 283,000 sq ft, 15 ft ceilings and loaded with support columns, will make any casino built there look like it's located in someone's basement, which, in essence, it is. Doesn't scream "world class". When the Chicago Auto Show was held in Lakeside Center, Hall E was always the place to see the latest in conversion vans, a smattering of Excaliburs, and watch demonstrations for vegetable slicers, miracle chamois, and once-a-year car polish. Had a funky bad basement vibe even back then.



I had a question about the possibility of a hotel or future expansion at Lakeside - Parking Lot C, located just south of Lakeside, is an existing structure built east of D-LSD, albeit underground. Could a new structure be built on top of Lot C and still stay within the letter of the Lakefront Protection Ordinance? It could be argued anything built on top of Lot C is an improvement of an existing structure and its footprint would not be enlarged in any way.

[ardecila]

^ I remember that strange sideshow space during auto shows. Definitely a weird vibe down there.

Maybe you could build on top of Parking C, but seems like you're playing with fire there if you wanna put a new highrise or even midrise east of LSD.

I do wonder if the upper level of Lakeside Center could be converted to an atrium-style hotel, with a series of 3-4 story "motels" constructed under the giant roof and the space between reserved for landscaping, pools, bars, etc. Might explain what appear to be sections of glass roof in the rendering.

[left of center]

Originally Posted by galleyfox

It’s reported to need $300 million in repairs especially to the roof. Before the casino proposal, Farpoint was trying to see if it was useable for film production sets. But otherwise it’s a bit of a white elephant.


https://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/...-sets-sights-on-lakeside-center-overhaul

Hopefully if they do dump Lakeside, they will already have new space online or coming online. I think one of McCormick's biggest draws is the fact that its such a huge exposition/convention center (largest in North America). Granted, the convention industry has been hit hard by Covid and I'm sure most of their space is currently underutilized, but it would be short sited to give away millions of square feet of space without a plan for replacing it once everything returns to normal and trade shows start coming back in full force.

[Klippenstein]

Originally Posted by ardecila

Not sure where the hotel would go but certainly McCormick has several large hotels in the complex already. Can Bluhm get away with using the existing hotels? I think the appeal of this plan is that it requires a lot less construction/capex than the ground-up casino proposals, so more profitable.

Some insight in the Tribune article published today...

Farpoint would be seeking a 99-year lease with the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority. The preliminary budget for the redevelopment project is $1 billion, Goodman said.
The adaptive reuse of an existing convention hall may have one significant advantage over competing proposals with new buildings — an expedited timeline.
“We don’t have to build a temporary casino,” Goodman said. “And we can add hotel rooms, if desired, but there’s 2,900 hotel rooms that already exist on day one.”

[VKChaz]

Originally Posted by Klippenstein

Some insight in the Tribune article published today...

Interested in seeing more about the lease terms and and what it would mean for MPEA. At one point I had read that some trade shows could be reluctant to book adjacent to a casino, but I don't know how true or extensive that might be.

[psxvz]

https://chicago.suntimes.com/2021/11/10/...k-place-tribune-freedom-center-lightfoot

One Bally’s proposal already faces stiff opposition from a South Side alderman whose cards have been on the table for years against bringing a casino to her Bronzeville ward.

Their other bid is being met with open arms by another alderman who says the site of the River West plant that currently prints both of Chicago’s major daily newspapers would be an “ideal” site for a casino operator to essentially start printing money.

[Chicago_Forever]

Proposed Chicago South Loop casino Rivers 78
GREG HINZ ON POLITICS
23 MINUTES AGO
Here are new details on proposed South Loop casino
The team led by billionaire casino mogul Neil Bluhm offers a look at the proposed casino and says people of color will lead the design and construction.

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/greg-hin...icago-south-loop-casino-details-revealed

Article doesn't provide much info but this is the bid/proposal I've been waiting to see the most as it's in my preferred location. The one rendering looks like this could be something special, if built as shown, but we all know that's not always the case with related. Can't wait to see more rendering and for more details to come out.

[bnk]

Originally Posted by Chicago_Forever

Proposed Chicago South Loop casino Rivers 78
GREG HINZ ON POLITICS
23 MINUTES AGO
Here are new details on proposed South Loop casino
The team led by billionaire casino mogul Neil Bluhm offers a look at the proposed casino and says people of color will lead the design and construction.

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/greg-hin...icago-south-loop-casino-details-revealed

Article doesn't provide much info but this is the bid/proposal I've been waiting to see the most as it's in my preferred location. The one rendering looks like this could be something special, if built as shown, but we all know that's not always the case with related. Can't wait to see more rendering and for more details to come out.

[chicubs111]

^ damn beat me to it..lol



https://www.chicagobusiness.com/greg-hin...icago-south-loop-casino-details-revealed

[CaptainJilliams]

From a design perspective and location, definitely my favorite.

[thegoatman]

Geez this one blows all the other ones out the water! Doesn't even look like Chicago, build it now!