INSIGHT INTEGRATED RESORT - SPAIN
Spanish Mirage
Will Hard Rock Vila-Seca and Salou ever happen?
There was a time that G3 was heavily invested in the idea of an integrated
resort in Spain. We attended briefings in Las Vegas, interviewed government ministers and even got involved in a political spat with the Catalan
government. But until the opening of City of Dreams Mediterranean this year, it appeared the continent was destined never to welcome an IR. Hard Rock has kept the faith though - and Spain is back in the picture. Just don’t get your hopes up too high... this one’s got history.
Scheduled to open in 2017, Barcelona World was the result of a deal struck between Catalan President Artur Mas, and real estate developer, Veremonte Participacoes S.A., who in 2012 agreed to create a mega-complex that would house six theme parks, six hotels, casinos, theatres and more. Temed with six world areas (Brazil, China, Europe, India, Russia and the United States), Barcelona World was expected to cost €4.5bn and create 20,000 jobs.
At the time, taxation on casinos was generally very high in Spain, and in Catalonia then stood at about 55 per cent of GGR. Under new rules, casinos in Catalonia would pay 10 per cent on their revenues from gambling once the casinos were up and running. Te news meant that the coast of Tarragona, where the resort was scheduled to be constructed, would soon become one of Europe’s most popular tourist destinations, with building of the project set to begin as early as 2014. Te first phase of construction included the construction of two hotels by Spanish company Melià, a theatre, a casino operated by Chinese casino group, Melco, and a shopping mall by UK luxury shopping mall firm, Value Retail. Te first phase of construction would cost an estimated €783m.
Te project also meant that Barcelona had won a significant advantage over its traditional rival, Madrid, after it had been announced earlier that same year that Madrid would lose out on the €18bn EuroVegas project after growing speculation that the project would be better located outside of Spain.
P100 WIRE / PULSE / INSIGHT / REPORTS
However, in June 2015, the Veremonte Group announced its decision to withdraw from the Barcelona World project. Since then the scale of the project has been drastically reduced, had a name change, local lawmakers have squabbled over who will get what, it’s been caught up in red tape, and environmentalist action groups have protested against it.
In addition, in order to guarantee the project’s continuation, the Catalan Government reached an agreement with La Caixa Bank for the rights to buy the 500 hectares of land allocated for the project.
In May 2018, the Government of Catalonia finally declared that it had given Hard Rock Entertainment World permission to build a casino and leisure complex in the southern towns of Vila-seca and Salou. Although the scope of the project is smaller than initially envisaged, the site will still be a major development and will have a huge impact on the area.
News about the project went relatively quiet for a while, but it’s making headlines once again with lawmakers showing a relatively united front in trying to ensure that the project gets the go-ahead.
We trace the highs and lows of this decade-long saga on the south Catalan coast (including G3’s own small part in the controversy surrounding it) and check in to see how the project is shaping up now.
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