MGM Resorts broke ground on its $800 million MGM Springfield casino back in March 2015 but has been unable to fully proceed with its constructions plans due to a number of reasons. The MGM Springfield casino facility was expected to open before the end of 2017 but these delays have forced the casino to delay its launch and get permission from the Massachusetts gaming commission to open in the fall of 2018.

There were three main reasons why the casino was forced to delay its construction project. The MGM Springfield casino decided to make a number of significant design changes to its initial design which included the removal of a 25 storey glass hotel, a 6 storey building and cutting down on its square footage by ten percent. These changes did not go down well with the state government who held a number of meetings with MGM Resort officials to establish if the company was fully committed to the MGM Springfield facility.

The second reason for the delay was due to the fact that there were a number of historic buildings that needed to be preserved and re-located for the construction work to begin. Springfield’s historic preservation authority had to do a detailed review of the re-location plans and took time to roll out a final approval. The third reason for the delay was due to the fact that MGM Springfield was not keen to open due to the construction work happening on Interstate 91’ as casino officials believed that it would be best for the casino to open once the project was completed.

The delays have proven to be costly for MGM Springfield as the cost of the casino has now skyrocketed from $800 million to $950 million due to the rise in administrative, labour and material costs. The casino has now commenced construction work at the 14.5-acre and have already demolished a number of complexes and shifted some of the historic buildings.

A total of seven hundred construction workers have been deployed so far and their current focus is on building a parking garage that will provide space for 3,400 cars. The casino expects to hire a total of 2,000 temporary construction workers and 3,000 full time employees when the casino opens its doors to the public.

Micheal Mathis the President of MGM Springfield stated that MGM Resorts has kept its financial obligations and has already paid the city $8 million in pre-opening payments as promised. An additional $4.5 million is to be paid later this year and a final $4 million in 2017. Once the casino is opened, MGM Springfield will have to pay the Massachusetts state government a share of its profits and an additional $25 million each year.