Nittany Mall Satellite Casino Plans Approved in Pennsylvania
The College Township Council decided to approve the planned casino project for the Nittany Mall in Pennsylvania, allowing yet another satellite venue to be placed inside a mall location.
If all goes according to plan, a Bally’s Corporation branded satellite casino will be built inside the Nittany Mall in Pennsylvania. The College Township Council voted late last week to approve the development plans inside a former Macy’s store. To move forward with the plans, the state Gaming Control Board must give approval and the matter won’t be voted on until after a second public input meeting takes place this month.
Details of the Project
During the upcoming meeting, the developer of the casino will present the full plans for the project. Regulators will then need to decide if they are going to approve licensing for the casino or not. The Category 4 casino will be situated in a 94,000 square foot space and offer 30 table games with 750 slot machines. There will also be a sportsbook onsite as well as a bar, restaurant, and quick dining area.
At the last meeting, discussion took place regarding how the plans will address issues such as sidewalks, the parking lot, and other details. Based on the current ordinance in the township, a new development must add a certain size of sidewalk. The developer wants to start with 215 linear feet and move on to 1,000 more in the future, including ADA compliant ramps.
Chad Stafford, the project engineer for the casino, stated that plans are to try and create pedestrian connections so that everyone can easily use the property and it is connected to neighboring businesses. Based on trees and utility poles, the plans now are to add a pedestrian route through the parking lot of the casino and lead it to a new sidewalk that connects to a crossing at Benner Pike.
Bally’s Bringing Casino Gaming to the Mall
The new property will be owned by Ira Lubert, an investor and former trustee of Penn State. Lubert paid $10 million last September to obtain a Category 4 license. He plans to spend around $123 million to create the new venue.
Back in March, Lubert submitted an application and an impact report that shows the mall in the College Township as his desired location. Bally’s Corporation signed a deal early on this year to help create and operate the new casino with Lubert.
It is expected that the new property will create 350 full time jobs for the short term during constructions. Almost 200 indirect jobs will be created as well. The net one-time economic impact from the property for the College Township is estimated at over $43 million. The county should receive over $61 million.
Once up and running, the casino should provide between 350 and 400 full time employment positions. Individuals that work for the casino will be provided competitive pay and benefits. From the games, the host municipality will receive 2% of slot game revenues. Table games provide a 1% payment as well as sportsbooks.
During the first year of operation, the College Township is expected to earn around $1.6 million from gaming revenues and tax payments. Once the industry is stabilized, as much as $2 million is expected annually.
Once the board hosts its final meeting and if the board gives it approval, then it is expected that construction will begin and take about one year to complete. This would mark the next satellite casino creation in Pennsylvania since legislation was approved to add the smaller gaming venues to the state back in 2017.
