Back in December, Kansas Entertainment LLC (a partnership between Kansas Speedway and Cordish Co.) had pulled their application within hours of gaining the final approval needed from the Kansas gaming commission. At that point, there was much speculation as to whether Kansas would get any casinos at all since Kansas Entertainment was the last to pullout leaving no contendors for casino development.

The casino would be built overlooking Turn 2 at the track as a part of a proposed $680 million dollar entertainment destination center to include a Hard Rock branded casino with a 100,000 sq. ft gaming floor, a bar, dining and other entertainment facilities. Eventually plans would include a hotel, spa, convention center and a retail district, as well.

While the proposal is the same overall in scope as it was before it was withdrawn, the company plans to develop the resort in phases that will be more workable in the current credit markets.

“We’re not scaling back,” said Speedway President Jeff Boerger. “The only thing that is different in our proposal, is we’re phasing it in. We’re doing the casino first, and the hotel, meeting space, entertainment will come after all the financial markets turn around.”

Part of the proposal includes the Speedway’s parent company, International Speedway Corp., to petition Nascar to add a second Sprint Cup race for the track. The company will also be petitioning Grand-Am Road Racing to grant the speedway some sport car races.