Casinos generic 2015
The MGM Springfield casino is requesting a one-year delay in opening, but that should not slow the construction process.
(File)
Penn National Gaming and MGM Resorts International are competitors in the gaming industry, but MGM can take a lesson from its rival.
A request to delay the opening of MGM Springfield for one year has logic behind it. The Interstate 91 viaduct deck replacement project is running six months behind schedule, and MGM would rather wait for completion before opening its downtown casino.
Delaying the opening from 2017 to 2018 would cost MGM tens of millions of dollars. Opening it to nightmarish traffic problems, though, would risk giving visitors such a distasteful first experience that they might not come back – especially as other gaming facilities spring up within driving distance.
Here is where the Penn National experience comes in. In building the Plainridge Park Casino, Penn National moved forward with construction even before the 2014 voter referendum guaranteed casino gambling's future in this state at all.
It was a business risk, but it paid off. Plainridge Park Casino opened June 24 in Plainville, getting the jump on other gaming facilities and opening its revenue stream as soon as possible.
Even if MGM Springfield wants to wait until the viaduct project is completed, it should aggressively pursue its construction schedule with the original 2017 target date in mind. That way, if the I-91 project is completed on deadline, MGM will be poised to go.
If not, the task of building the complex will still be done. Using the requested delay in opening to delay the construction has no advantages, but one big disadvantage: if any unforeseen delays occur in the casino construction, any extra time made possible by the viaduct work delays will be squandered, and even a 2018 opening will be jeopardized.
The state Department of Transportation has said it sees no reason the viaduct work should create a delay in the casino opening. Either MassDOT expects to catch up and complete its work on time, or it believes ongoing work will not significantly interfere with the opening.
Each of those points is debatable. It's also not for MassDOT to decide when a private gaming industry should open its doors.
Whatever happens with the I-91 project, though, MGM should forge ahead with construction on the original 2017 timetable. The Springfield complex will have the advantage of getting the jump on competing, comparable gaming facilities, so all steps should be taken to ensure its prompt opening.
If unfinished viaduct work necessitates a prudent short-term delay, so be it. But build it on time. Doing that will put MGM Springfield in a position to command its own destiny, as Penn National showed with its bold, aggressive strategy in Plainville.