Expanding on Success

Foxwoods Plans To Add 120,000 sq. ft. To Existing Casino

By Natalie Keith

The world's largest gaming resort, Foxwoods Resort Casino, is about to get a little bigger.

The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation - which owns and operates the Connecticut casino it describes as the world's largest - has started a $99 million expansion.

advertisement

The expansion - the first undertaken by the tribe since December 2000 - will include a 120,000-sq.-ft. casino expansion with new gaming and bingo space, a 2,100-car parking garage, 7,500 sq. ft. of food and beverage outlets and 6,000 sq. ft. of retail space.

The expansion will feature a 10,000-sq.-ft. Hard Rock Café.

Ray Schofield, project manager with Skanska USA Building Inc. of Boston, saiid initial pouring of concrete started in August.

Now workers have to make sure they don't interfere with existing casino operations during construction. "We must keep emergency egress open during construction," Schofield said.

After a competitive bidding process, the tribe selected Skanska USA Building to do the build-out. The design firm is The S/L/A/M Collaborative of Glastonbury, Conn., and the conceptual design was done by New England Design of Mansfield, Conn.

The expansion will be built out from the Rainmaker Casino, Foxwoods' original gaming area. It will add about 825 state-of-the-art slot machines, bringing the total at Foxwoods to 7,450. The project will add 200 additional smoke-free bingo seats and 140 new duel-use video bingo/slot machines.

More than 200 construction workers are expected to build the expansion.

The newest portion of the resort will feature the Foxwoods look and colors. Stone columns flank sizable glass areas that continue the tradition of allowing the outside to come into the building. Portions of the exterior will feature a stucco look with basket-weave design capped by the metal roof.

The parking garage will be constructed on what is now a valet parking area adjacent to the resort's high-stakes bingo hall. Walker Parking Consultants of Boston designed the garage, which will have five levels of self-parking, with two offering valet service. The facility will include a drive-through lane for ease of movement on the resort property and an additional drop-off location for bingo buses.

The project is expected to be completed in summer 2004.

"This is an exciting day for all of us at Foxwoods," said Bill Sherlock, the resort's president and CEO. "It will add needed gaming space and relieve our parking situation at peak times."

The tribe also is in the process of constructing two golf courses, one private and one resort, designed by golf course architect Rees Jones.

Located east of Foxwoods on the Lake of Isles property in North Stonington, Conn., the course property includes a golf academy, 50,000-sq.-ft. clubhouse and a number of planned luxury golf villas nestled into the natural surroundings. It is scheduled for completion in spring 2005.

"I've been looking at the Lake of Isles property for more than 15 years," Jones said. "From the very beginning I've always known you can build a world class course here."