Las Vegas Sands has chosen to build what has been dubbed ‘Euro Vegas’ in Madrid, Spain.
The US-based casino group named the Spanish capital its preferred location to build an integrated casino resort development aimed at the European market ahead of Barcelona. It has now completed the first phase of the due diligence process and will now determine the size, scope and specific location of the project.
How the project will be financed is also still to be decided, however, with Sands committing around 25-35 per cent equity for the proposed development.
The plans are still in the early phases, the company said, adding that progress towards “resolution of the current economic challenges within Europe will be an important consideration.”
Sheldon Adelson, Sands chairman and CEO, thanked both Madrid and Barcelona for their dedication to the process.
“The regional government of Madrid has been a strong advocate for this potential development and we are appreciative of the energy they have brought to this process," he said. "Barcelona is an outstanding tourism destination and choosing Madrid over Barcelona was not an easy selection.
“We also want to express our deepest gratitude to the people both within the Barcelona government and those who served as consultants or advisors to us there while we went through our evaluation process."
While the process in Spain continues, Sands will continue to “aggressively focus” on a number of other development opportunities in Japan, Korea and Vietnam, he added.
