In Finland, residential and business property developer SRV Group has announced that its planned Central Deck And Arena project for the southern city of Tampere has been selected by the Raha-Automaattiyhdistys (RAY) regulator as the home for the Scandinavian nation’s newest casino.

First announced in February, the $549.9 million Central Deck And Arena project is being designed as a way to connect the eastern and western parts of Tampere via a new hybrid block containing the nation’s largest sports and events arena alongside offices and over 1,000 apartments.

SRV Group stated that the new 1.29 million sq ft development is additionally set to house a hotel, restaurants and other recreational premises and will see the city’s southern railroad yard covered with a deck on which the sports and events arena, two office towers and a training hall will be built. A subsequent phase will encompass a northern second deck alongside a further trio of buildings.

“This is great news for SRV Group and we are delighted that RAY selected our multifunctional arena as the location for its new gaming and events centre,” said Timo Nieminen, Executive Vice-President for Espoo-based SRV Group. “We will be proud to continue promoting this unique project, which if realised means that Tampere will have a completely new district with good transport connections.”

SRV Group declared that it expects initial construction on the southern deck for the Central Deck And Arena project to begin in the spring with the first phase completed by the summer of 2020 followed by the whole development in 2023.

“The strengths of the Central Deck And Arena project, which RAY considered when making the decision on the location of the new casino, include diverse restaurant, accommodation and entertainment services, a rich selection of events around the year and a central location with good transport connections,” read a statement from SRV Group.