James Packer confirms delay to Sydney Barangaroo casino project
James Packer has labelled his Sydney casino project as his most important, as he confirmed it’s been delayed.
Billionaire James Packer has labelled his Sydney casino project as his most important, as he confirmed it has been delayed.
Mr Packer, speaking at the opening of his new $US3.2 billion Studio City casino resort in Macau, said across his vast business portfolio the Sydney Barangaroo project topped his list.
“In my business life nothing is more important than Crown Sydney,” he said.
“It will be the most expensive ever to build per square foot and we want to make it very special.”
The Sydney casino was originally targeted for a November 2019 opening.
Late last year a payment disagreement between Mr Packer’s casino partner Lend Lease and the New South Wales government looked set to delay the development.
Crown (CWN) has also been waiting for the approval of an application which would allow remediation works to start on the Barangaroo site.
Mr Packer, who met with NSW Premier Mike Baird last week, today said the earliest the $2 billion Barangaroo project would open was the end of 2020.
“It is important that we now get started on it,” he said.
“Since we announced Sydney we have announced (Las) Vegas and Melbourne.
“I would hate Sydney to be the last of the three to open.
“The Premier is doing all he can and I was grateful for that when we met.”
Melco Crown Entertainment’s Studio City opens in Macau tonight, with Crown Resorts executives set rubbing shoulders with Hollywood A-listers to toast the occasion.
Studio City, which will have 1640 hotel rooms and the ability to support up to 500 gaming tables and 1500 electronic gaming machines, is targeted at the premium mass market, looking to cash in on the rise of Chinese tourists travelling abroad.
Melco Crown, in which Mr Packer’s Crown Resorts has a 34 per cent stake, is confident its new casino, with its theme-park like attractions, can weather the revenue slump in Macau.
* The reporter travelled to Macau as a guest of Crown Resorts
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