Illinois: Gorman & Company in talks with 5 casino operators for a bid in Rockford

Wisconsin-based Gorman & Company Inc. is in talks with several potential partners to submit a bid to develop a riverfront casino on 13 acres south of the downtown Embassy Suites Hotel and Rockford Conference Center that the company is developing. Also, a group of community advocates in Rockford have announced their proposal for the Rockford casino as well, to be located in downtown.

Gorman & Company Chairman Gary Gorman confirmed Monday his company has an option under contract to purchase property south of the hotel where he envisions developing an entertainment complex and casino linked by pedestrian walkways to the hotel and to a train station that would bring in thousands of visitors from Chicagoland. Gorman said he is in talks with five casino operators that have expressed interest.

“There is all kinds of academic data that shows that casinos are most successful when part of an integrated entertainment, restaurant and activity district, creating a critical mass,” Gorman said, according to Rockford Register Star. “They are less successful when they are out on an island.”

The casino bid that Gorman pledges to make is likely to intensify a simmering debate over the benefits of a downtown casino complex for job creation and economic development versus an east side location that is more accessible via Interstate 90 for gamblers with deep pockets living in wealthy communities like McHenry and other northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin counties.

Hard Rock International is, so far, the only casino operator that has expressed a desire to bid for a city casino license that’s up for grabs. The company has said it plans to propose a casino at the old Clock Tower Resort site at East State Street and I-90.

Municipal leaders in Machesney Park and Loves Park, which would share in a portion of Rockford’s casino tax revenue, have said they’d prefer that Rockford plant a casino close to I-90 because they feel that’s where a casino would generate the most revenue and taxes to be shared among Illinois and local governments.

Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara has said that no formal proposals have been submitted, much less selected. The mayor said he’s eager to hear more viable proposals.

Rockford plans to initiate a vetting and negotiation process after a 2 p.m. August 16 proposal deadline. A public hearing is scheduled September 23 to gather input on the proposals before City Council forwards a certified recommendation — or recommendations — to the Illinois Gaming Board in late October.

State Senator Dave Syverson, R-Rockford, has long backed a casino near the I-90 corridor, believing the city would be leaving millions on the table if it were to select a site downtown or elsewhere. And he argues that casinos have generated welcome tax revenue, but little, if any, economic development in other Illinois cities.

Syverson said the city should pick a site that will maximize gaming and tax revenue from visitor spending. “Casinos are destination points where people go and they game, they eat at the facility, they get back in their cars and they go,” Syverson said.

Gorman acknowledged Hard Rock made an early splash with its star-powered announcement featuring Rockford native and Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen, one of several business partners pitching the Clock Tower site for a casino development.

However, Gorman said, the city will consider other factors besides location when it comes to Rockford’s casino license. Those other considerations include job creation, a synergy offered by a riverfront casino near a downtown hotel, in addition to a $275 million earmark in the state’s capital plan — fueled in part by new casino revenue — for re-establishing train service between Rockford and Chicago.

Moreover, The Rock River West group, a coalition of community advocates for an urban Rockford casino along with the Rockford Aquarium, announced their proposal for the casino would be in downtown Rockford. The proposed casino would be located at the gateway to downtown and adjacent to the anticipated train station and Amerock Embassy Suites Hotel and Convention center on the South Main corridor.

The group says the site would provide easy visitor access citing a 5-minute drive from the US bypass 20, 10 minutes from the Chicago Rockford International Airport, and 10 minutes from I-90 with easy on and off access thanks to the new bypass 20 entrance and exit ramps currently under construction. The group says they want to enhance the vibrant atmosphere of downtown at the Waterpower District.

“This new Entertainment District will enrich our community while supporting the entire downtown destination,” states Stacy Bernardi, Rock River West Advocacy Group, as reported by WREX. “We envision that this project location can definitively grow more entertainment events for the BMO Harris Bank Center, Coronado Theater and Davis Park with existing and added restaurants, existing and new retail, and new entertainment attractions in and around the South Main Corridor and the overall River District.”

The group says a downtown casino could capitalize on Rockford’s rich history and unique assets. The group also points to the Amerock Embassy Suites Hotel and Convention center as a selling point for a casino. “The casino and hotel once completed is expected to employ between 600 to 1000 people, along with the Aquarium employing of 120 to 200 full and part time employees,” said Victory Bell of the Rock River West Advocacy Group.

Other members of the group are looking at the proposed train station. “With the anticipated train station approved in the state capital plan, Rail Transit provides easy connections to the Greater Chicago market delivering tourist through Founders Landing and entry of the Waterpower District and downtown,” said Rudy Valdez, Urban Casino advocate.