Live! Hotel & Casino wants to create a more walkable stadium district

Granting the Live! Casino & Hotel project Philadelphia’s remaining gaming license would not only generate the most new revenue for the city and state, said Cordish Company Gaming and Resorts Division President Joe Weinberg, it would also create a more walkable stadium district.

When asked during a recent interview at his Baltimore office why the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board should choose the Live! proposal by Cordish and partner Greenwood Gaming over the other four applicants competing for the license, Weinberg went straight to the 900 Packer Ave. location.

That corner of Packer and Darien Street enjoys proximity to both I-76 and I-95, and Weinberg said this easy on-and-off car access is key to the success of any regional casino.

“And we’re part of the stadium district, which today attracts over 8 million visitors a year with 300 events per year,” he said. “It would be a tremendous driver of traffic for the gaming facility.”

Weinberg said a stadium district casino would also present less direct competition for the existing SugarHouse Casino on Delaware Avenue in Fishtown. “So it will generate the greatest amount of new revenue, and have the least amount of cannibalization,” he said.

The highway access, nearby sports facilities and the distance from SugarHouse may differentiate Live! from two competitors with Center City locations: The Provence at Broad and Callowhill and Market8 at 8th and Market. But two other proposals would be situated in the stadium district – Casino Revolution wants to build at Front Street and Pattison Avenue, and Hollywood even closer at 700 Packer Ave.

Weinberg said the regional casino experience of the Cordish/Greenwood team, which would both own and operate the proposed casino, sets them apart.

Continue reading this story and others on the proposed casino plans, Market8 and The Provence on PlanPhilly.