Sands Wins Approval to Build Complex in Bethlehem, PA
Project to Provide Thousands of New Jobs and Economic Boost to Lehigh Valley
DECEMBER 20, 2006. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board today announced the selection of Sands Bethworks Gaming LLC, a subsidiary of Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS), for a state gaming license that will pave the way for the company to begin construction on a shopping, dining, and entertainment complex located on the site of the former Bethlehem Steel plant in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
"We are honored to be granted this opportunity," said Sheldon G. Adelson, chairman and chief executive officer of Las Vegas Sands Corp. "As a company we take tremendous pride in our ability to deliver compelling, creative, and successful destination resorts. In this case we aim to produce a development so outstanding that the people of Bethlehem, Lehigh Valley, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania will all be proud to call it their own
"This development will provide tremendous economic opportunity locally and really represents the beginning of a new era for the Lehigh Valley," said Bill Weidner, president and chief operating officer of Las Vegas Sands Corp. "But the real beauty of this development is its ability to pay tribute to the heritage of Bethlehem Steel and allow the industrial giant to secure its place in history as a great American icon."
Weidner said the regeneration of the largest existing brownfield site in the U.S. will not only spur regional economic growth and provide meaningful benefit to the existing local businesses, but it could serve as a model for the redevelopment of other industrial and economically challenged areas across the country.
In its first phase, the 126-acre development, which has gone by the working title "Sands BethWorks," will feature a 300-room hotel, 200,000 square feet of retail space, 3,000 slot machines, and a variety of dining and entertainment options. The property will also be home to the National Museum of Industrial History, an arts and cultural center, and the broadcast home of the local PBS affiliate. The company hopes to open the complex in 2008.
The selection of Las Vegas Sands Corp. for a Category 2 (At-large) Gaming License in Pennsylvania marks the second major gaming license the company has secured in the past eight months. In May, the company was selected by the Singapore government to build the city-state's first integrated resort. The $3.6 billion Marina Bay Sands(TM), featuring more than 2,500 rooms, one million square feet of retail space, an ArtScience Museum, and 1.2 million square feet of meeting and convention space.
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