Mississippi Gulf Coast
Rebuilding Moves Area Into National Market
By Peyton Posey As a long-time destination for large state association and regional meetings, the Mississippi Gulf Coast area has set its sights on drawing events from the national market in 2008, said Paula April, director of marketing for the Mississippi Gulf Coast Coliseum and Convention Center. “With our expansion and renovation, this will put us into a whole different league from a national standpoint. We continue to see repeat groups, but more clients are starting to see what a well-rounded resort area we are.”
The coliseum complex, located in Biloxi on Beach Boulevard across from the Gulf of Mexico, is currently undergoing a complete renovation and expansion, and will be closed until Jan. 5, 2008, April said. At that time, the 180,000 square feet of renovated meeting space will reopen and will be able to be set up in 150 unique configurations. “Our facility is very easy to move within since it’s on a single level, and it’s flexible for all types of functions,” she said.
In addition, $68 million is being invested to expand the facility, which will be completed in summer 2009 and bring the total meeting space to 375,000 square feet. April said the expansion will make the facility the largest convention center on the gulf coast.
What’s more, there’s rebuilding and renovation projects throughout the region at casinos, hotels, businesses and homes, said Mississippi Gulf Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) Media Relations Manager Janice Jones. “Because of Hurricane Katrina, most of what is along Hwy. 90 is new or renovated. Since the casinos are now able to build on land within 800 feet of the mean tide line, we are going to see a lot more activity.”
Jones said plans for new hotel projects are in the works, including a new Hilton property that is expected to open in Biloxi.
Additional properties are on the horizon, including Bacaran Bay Casino Resort, a condo/hotel project being built in Biloxi by Torguson Gaming Group. According to CEO Marlin Torguson, the $600 million resort will include 459 guest suites, 663 studio and one- and two-bedroom condos, 60,000 square feet of meeting space, an 18-hole Arnold Palmer signature golf course, a bowling alley, and two entertainment venues. Completion is expected in late 2008.
Ground was broken in August on the $700 million Margaritaville Casino and Resort in Biloxi, a venture between Harrah’s Entertainment and musician Jimmy Buffett. The complex will be located on 46 acres formerly occupied by Casino Magic. According to Jones, this facility represents the single largest investment in Mississippi since Hurricane Katrina.
Gary Loveman, Harrah’s chairman, president and CEO, said the casino is set to open in spring 2010 and feature 66,000 square feet of meeting space, 798 hotel rooms, 250,000 square feet of retail space and 100,000 square feet of gaming space. “Along with Jimmy Buffett, we plan to develop the next generation destination resort on the gulf coast,” Loveman said. “This project of more than $700 million is vital to supporting the rebirth of Mississippi’s tourism industry.”
Plans are also under way for two casino projects in D’Iberville, as City Manager Richard Rose announced. Both the Royal D’Iberville Casino and the West D’Iberville Group filed applications with the city in late September. Peter Simon, developer for the West D’Iberville casino, said he plans to build a $250 million complex that will feature a gambling hall, meeting space and hotel rooms.
Mark Seymour of Seymour Engineering said final plans for the Royal D’Iberville project, which is slated to include a 60,000-square-foot casino, a 400-room hotel and condo/hotel units, are currently being reviewed by the city, and he hopes to break ground at the beginning of 2008. Both casinos will be built adjacent to one another on Biloxi’s back bay, west of U.S. Interstate 110.
Among the new projects already open, the 318-room Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Biloxi opened in July and can accommodate concerts and other events in the 1,500-capacity Hard Rock Live venue. Other features include a full-service spa and fitness center, a Hard Rock-themed pool and seven dining options. Nightlife entrepreneur Rande Gerber, operator of New Orleans’ Whiskey Blue nightclub, opened the casino’s Rise Lounge and said, “Biloxi is a unique place with a community of people who share a true zest for life. I’m very excited to have this opportunity to help reinvigorate their historic nightlife culture.”
Located in Gulfport on the property previously occupied by the Grand Casino Gulfport is the Island View Casino Resort. According to Owner Rick Carter, the complex completed phase two this spring and now houses 560 guest rooms, 2,500 square feet of meeting space and 83,000 square feet of gaming space. Also new on the property is Emeril’s Gulf Coast Fish House restaurant. “When we opened Island View we made a commitment to the gulf coast community to operate a casino resort of the highest quality,” Carter said.
The Silver Slipper Casino opened in Bay St. Louis in late 2006 with more than 30,000 square feet of gaming, three restaurants and the Casino Stage Bar performance lounge. A beachfront, 24-pad RV park was recently added and a hotel is expected to open in 2008, officials said.
Of the 13 casinos that were operating on the coast before Katrina, 11 have reopened, contributing to the more than 11,000 hotel rooms available in the region, according to CVB officials.
The lighthouse in Biloxi, Miss., stands as a symbolic beacon casting light on a new era of growth for the state’s coastal region since Hurricane Katrina made landfall in 2005. |
First to reopen in 2005 was the IP Casino, Resort and Spa in Biloxi, which is currently undergoing a $100 million renovation project slated for completion by Memorial Day 2008, said Public Relations Manager Elaine Stevens. Included in the renovation is 30,000 square feet of additional land-based gaming space; additional convention and meeting rooms; and a state-of-the-art, Asian fusion-inspired restaurant. The 1,086-room hotel/casino offers a spa and salon, three lounge areas, and the renovated IP showroom. “We will undergo an additional expansion to the existing showroom space sometime in the next year that will be more conducive for larger productions and headline performers,” Stevens said, adding that other projects in the works include interior renovations to all hotel rooms and the modernization of all aspects of the Four-Diamond resort.
Reopened in August 2006 after a $550 million renovation was the 32-story, 3.2 million-square-foot Beau Rivage Resort and Casino, which currently houses the largest meeting facility of the area casinos. The property offers 50,000 square feet of flexible meeting space within four ballrooms and 1,740 guest rooms and suites. The property also features 11 different eateries, four bars/lounges, and a dozen various retail shops and regularly brings headline performers to its 1,500-seat capacity theater.
Owned and managed by Harrah’s Entertainment, the Grand Biloxi Casino, Hotel and Spa reopened with 500 guest rooms, a gaming hall, the 16,000-square-foot Bellissimo Spa and Salon, a championship Jack Nicklaus golf course, and several fine-dining and casual restaurants.
Key Info · State Sales Tax: 7 percent
· Hotel Tax:
Hancock County: 2 percent
Harrison County: 3 percent
Jackson County: 2 percent
· Transportation: The Coast Transit Authority provides fixed route bus service, including the Casino Hopper, every 15 minutes, seven days a week, to casinos, attractions and businesses along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. |
The 720-room Isle of Capri Casino Resort in Biloxi, which was under construction to expand its available meeting space, has put the project on hold, said Rich Westfall, director of community development. “We were in the process of an $180 million expansion, but we want to make certain we are meeting the needs of the area based on the current market place in Biloxi,” he said. “In order to be competitive, basically we are reevaluating our plans in order to provide more than enough meeting and convention space.” The previous plans called for an expansion of the gaming space to total 100,000 square feet with 45,000 square feet designated as meeting space. Westfall did not indicate when the new plans would be made public.
The Hollywood Casino Bay St. Louis re-opened in 2006 after a complete renovation of its 291 guest rooms and 17,000 square feet of meeting space, said Kevin DeSanctis, president/COO of Penn National Gaming. In August, John Chaszar joined the property as the general manager.
