Renowned US-based entertainment company Hard Rock, which has more than a passing interest in providing casino gaming as well as other leisure facilities around the world, have received the green light to go ahead with their planned venture in the Catalan region of Spain. Catalonia’s Ministry of Economy and Finance have given their seal of approval to the proposal, which will be a €2 billion investment in providing what they’ve termed a World Project in Vila-Seco and Salou in the Tarragona province.
The first phase will cost €700 million and is scheduled to take three years to complete. This part of the project is set to include a huge casino venture offering 1,200 slots and 100 gaming tables. There will also be two hotels as part of the resort, along with a retail district and a 15,000-seat theatre. The venue is set to be located close to Barcelona’s international airport for maximum convenience in terms of public access and potential patronage. Hard Rock International has estimated that it will provide €1.3 billion in value to the local area.
The project was originally planned with the title Barcelona World, but the Barcelona city council raised objections to this name; it is now slated to change. Initially, the venture was intended to be a joint project with Melco International Development, but they have since cooled on the investment in the face of their own enormous new enterprise in Cyprus, which broke ground this past Friday.
Spain has proven to be a tricky location for past ventures in the casino world: Las Vegas Sands cancelled its long-planned Madrid venture, Eurovegas, in late 2013 due to conflicts over Spain’s strict no-smoking rules, and Cordish Gaming giving up on its intended venture in the same city in 2017 due to concerns over tax law and regulations relating to land use.
One major competitor for the project is the well-established Casino Barcelona, which is located in central Barcelona and features numerous slots and table games, as well as playing host to some major poker series annually, including the infamous Pokerstars EPT and the more recent $10,000 PartyPoker Grand Final. Casino Barcelona, of course, is not an integrated resort, but it is situated adjacent to, and works closely with, the luxurious five-star Hotel Arts. Integrated or no, it can nonetheless likely give a resort like the one the Hard Rock is planning a serious run for its luxury dollar.
