Another story on the same expansion
Bruce Constantineau, Vancouver Sun
Published: Friday, February 22, 2008
Great Canadian Gaming Corp. has announced it will build a 191-room addition to its River Rock Casino Resort hotel in Richmond in time for the 2010 Olympics.
The addition will be part of a $118-million project that includes retail space, office space, a 1,200-space garage, moving walkways and an enclosed sky bridge to connect to the existing 222-room hotel.
The scheduled completion date is late 2009 or early 2010, before the start of the Olympic games in February 2010.
We see a definite demand for hotel rooms," Great Canadian representative Howard Blank said in an interview. "We're at full capacity almost every weekend, and our weekday business has really grown with our new meeting rooms and banquet facilities."
The new hotel space and related amenities will be constructed on top of the 1,200-space garage, which is already being built. Construction of the hotel expansion is expected to begin this spring.
The project includes 15,000 square feet of street-level retail space, and 6,000 square feet of office space.
Blank said group travel and business travel have become strong revenue generators for River Rock, noting the Lions Club plans to hold its Canadian convention there in May.
He said the new hotel rooms will be smaller than the suites contained in the original hotel, but River Rock fully expects to maintain its American Automobile Association four-diamond rating, which it achieved last year.
Great Canadian will apply to the B.C. Lottery Commission for additional funds to recover its capital investment in the new facilities. Funds for casino development are available through the Facility Development Commission and Accelerated Facility Development Commission.
bconstantineau@png.canwest.com