Live! Casino Philadelphia opens 15K-square-foot party and event center

Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia has officially opened its new 15,000-square-foot event center, with a grand ceremony held on Thursday. The launching proves timely, as demand begins to pick up in the local events industry.

The customizable venue includes the 10,000-square-foot Market Ballroom, two breakout rooms, pre-function space and three executive boardrooms, reports Philadelphia Business Journal. The spaces can be combined to offer seating for up to 1,000 guests, and other available offerings include a performance stage and high-tech audiovisual systems throughout.

Our Live! Event Center is officially open! #visitphilly #discoverphilly #planning pic.twitter.com/VJobjGNA3x

— Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia (@LiveCasinoPHL) September 30, 2021

Rooftop events can also be held on the property’s parking structure. Outdoor gatherings benefit from great views of the city skyline and the Stadium District.

Despite the grand opening ceremony celebrated late September, some events have been hosted in the space since the casino opened in February, although business saw limitations due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The buildout cost is part of the $700 million development cost of the overall hotel and casino venue, which was developed by Stadium Casino RE LLC, an affiliate of Baltimore-based The Cordish Cos. No individual cost for the event center has been revealed by the casino operator.

The casino is seeing heavy event demand, especially for galas and nonprofit events planned for the remainder of the year, Vice President of Sales Kelley Maddox told the previously cited news source. Customers are also booking events into 2022, with some even going as far as booking for 2025.

“Our differentiating factor is we’re the only major event center in a casino hotel where you have all the entertainment that you could possibly want right at your doorstep,” said Senior Vice President of Marketing Mario Maesano. “You don’t have to leave the building.”

Moreover, the newly opened event center benefits from its strategic location. It is near the South Philadelphia Stadium Complex, which attracts smaller groups of live wrestling and hockey organizations to the city for sporting events.

Attached to the property’s luxury hotel, which includes 208 rooms, the Live! event center caters to a wide range of clients, including mid-week business travelers as well as small corporate groups.

Weddings are also booking the venue, while groups that initially reserved space for 50 guests are starting to increase in size. One key factor driving the wedding celebration demand is the property being able to offer ceremonies, cocktails and dinner with on-site resources.

Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia opened its doors earlier this year, in February. Developed by Cordish Gaming Group, the South Philadelphia 510,000-square-foot multi-level facility features more than 2,100 slot machines, 121 live-action table games, and a dedicated 29 table poker room, as well as a FanDuel Sportsbook.