Crown's $281m plans for Burswood

PerthNow: Russell Quinn

Burswood Casino Resort's parent company, Crown Limited, will spend hundreds of millions of dollars upgrading the casino and hotel.

CROWN Limited's spending $281 million so the Burswood resort can acquire the neighbouring Holiday Inn hotel and expand the casino's gaming floor and VIP suites.
Crown said it will restructure the existing relationship it has with the Intercontinental Hotel Group, allowing the acquisition of the Holiday Inn hotel building and associated assets and dissolve the partnership under which the Intercontinental and Holiday Inn hotels are operated.

This, Crown said, means Burswood will be entitled to a greater share of hotel profits.

Burswood already owns the land on which the Holiday Inn hotel building is located.

“The total cost of acquiring the Holiday Inn hotel buildings and associated assets plus the costs of dissolving the partnership will be approximately $79 million, subject to usual sale adjustments,” the company said.

The deal, which is subject to a number of regulatory conditions, is expected to be completed early in July 2011.

Crown’s board has also approved a more extensive expansion of the main gaming floor which will accommodate the expansion of Burswood’s food and beverage offerings to include a pub style restaurant, a western style restaurant, a feature bar and a café.

The further expansion will take the expected total cost of the project from $73 million to $112 million.

Design work is already underway and, subject to certain conditions, it’s expected that the project will be complete late in 2012.

Meanwhile, the company has approved $7 million in expenditure for the construction of a new Infinity Suite on the ninth level of the resort which will provide additional support to the new VIP gaming salons currently under construction at Burswood, as well as the Pearl Room and its VIP salons.

Under Burswood’s current capital expenditure program, one Infinity Suite has been constructed on level 10 of the Intercontinental Hotel and two Infinity Suites have been constructed on level eight.

Finally, $35 million will be put towards a series of other small projects have also been approved for the Burswood Entertainment Complex including improvements to the entry, convention centre amenities and theatre areas and additional investment in new retail and food and beverage offerings.