The Midwest will get a piece of Las Vegas
luxury next month when MGM Mirage opens its $800 million hotel and
casino in Detroit.
The MGM Grand
Detroit is the first of three 400-room hotels that will replace or
be added to the so-called temporary casinos built after commercial
gambling was legalized in the Motor City a decade ago.
Add to that
renovations of two historical hotels, the Westin Book-Cadillac and
the Fort Shelby, and Detroit will soon have about 2,000 new
downtown hotel rooms in addition to its current convention hotel
hub, the Marriott Renaissance.
It's all part of
the Motor City's aggressive attempt to remake itself as a premier
destination for both conventioneers and tourists, particularly
those from the Midwest.
"It's really a very
exciting time," said Chris Baum, vice president of the city's
convention and visitors bureau. "People are starting to get the
message that we've got great hotels, casinos, world class sport
stadiums, great nightlife. ...We're now at a tipping point where
Detroit is now on people's radar screens."
Commercial gambling
is a key component of the new Detroit. Approved by voters in 1996,
three casinos have been up and running for seven years.
But until now there
have been no guest rooms attached to the casinos.
Three casinos, three styles
That will change on
Oct. 2 when the MGM Grand opens its doors. In November, the
retro-style MotorCity Casino Hotel will open as part of the
recently expanded MotorCity Casino, a $250 million project. And in
2008, the Greektown Casino expects to finish its hotel.
The venues are in
different parts of downtown, not on one gambling strip.
As it's name
implies, the Greektown Casino is in the city's Greektown Historic
District. MGM is close to the Detroit River, and MotorCity is in an
old Wonder Bread factory on Grand River Avenue.
They all have
different styles, and spreading them to different neighborhoods
"brings economic development to different parts of town," Baum
said.
While MotorCity,
owned by Little Caesars Pizza founder Mike Ilitch (who also owns
the Detroit Red Wings hockey team and the Detroit Tigers baseball
team), and Greektown, owned by Detroit businessman Marvin Beatty,
have more local themes, the idea behind the MGM Mirage was to
import a Las Vegas-type hotel and casino.
The MGM is also the
only hotel and casino that is brand new construction, from top to
bottom.
The other two
casinos are adding hotels to the gambling venues already in place.
MGM will close its old casino when it turns on the lights in the
new one.
Bringing luxury to Detroit
The MGM Grand
Detroit has been preparing for its opening by hosting MGM Mirage
officials and vendors.
"The feedback from
our Las Vegas team is that this is as nice or nicer than any
product we have anywhere," said John Hutar, vice president of hotel
operations. "We have had customers who have visited and compared us
to some of the must luxurious hotels in Chicago and New
York."
Like MGM Grand's
Las Vegas properties, the hotel will have free valet parking and a
variety of restaurants and bars, including a Wolfgang Puck Grille
that will venture into room service for the first time.
The hotel also has
what Hutar calls Detroit's first "resort spa" with nine treatment
rooms and an indoor infinity pool.
"Our objective was
really to change the paradigm, to bring luxury to Detroit," said
Hutar.
One key difference
from Las Vegas, Hutar said, is that the hotel will have a separate
entrance.
"If you're not a
gaming guest and you just want to enjoy the luxury hotel and spa,
you can do that without touching the gaming floor," he
said.
Hutar describes the
hotel's 500 square foot rooms as "urban chic," a bit of a cross
between New York and Las Vegas. The rooms have 42-inch plasma
televisions, iPod docking stations and other tech-friendly features
like electrical outlets near the bed for cell phone
chargers.
The hotel has nine
rooftop VIP penthouses and 56 corner suites.
The new casino has
100,000 square feet of gambling space, the same size as the
recently expanded MotorCity Casino.
Greektown is also
expanding its 75,000-square-foot casino, so by the end of next year
all three properties will be about the same size in number of hotel
rooms and casino space.
All three of the
casino hotels will also have large meeting spaces, as the
Monday-through-Friday target clientele is convention and business
travelers, with Midwest residents being a key target market for
weekends.
"Our grand ballroom
has 14,000 square feet," Hutar said. "That translates to 800 guests
for dinner, 1,200 theater-style. And what is unique in Detroit is
that we have a car lift, so the ballroom is well-suited for auto
shows.
"We know there are
meetings and events that are already planned for Detroit. But our
hope is ... to really attract new business to Detroit and change
the mentality where Detroit becomes a destination."
To
contact reporter Jeri Clausing, send e-mail to [email protected].
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For more details on this article, see "Detroit CVB: City's revival well under
way."