Collar Site | Etihad Campus

[BeardedGenius]

A reminder of the original render:

[cardiff]

Well done Manchester - was a real shock though, but that area could do with a bit more there to complimetn the stadium. Seems like blackpool didnt get it because most people would have to travel some distance (from place is the UK and airports) to Blackpool and that the development wouldnt stem the decline in tourism, as they felt that it would just operate at a lower level, which is a shame. As for my city Cardiff, they didnt get it because it was linked to the International sports village, which they felt would succede without it, and again the distance from major airports (seeing as Cardiffs airport is quite small).

[Skyscraperkid2K4]

This is really sad to hear, no offence to manchester but i believe Blackpool deserved much more, that place is going to get even more worst it will just fall of the UK map now.

[BeardedGenius]

Originally Posted by westisbest

it could be good practise for the slot machines, although congestion charging machines don't give anything back

Except access to glorious Manchester!

[paulmat]

Originally Posted by pricemazda

So Manchester got it because it was a good guinea pig? Blackpool needed this, Manchester has so many eggs in its basket, Blackpool has none.

The whole point of having one super-casino was to test out the effect's it would have.

Blackpool may have needed this (and peronally I think they should have got it), but thats not the point of the first super-casino.

[pricemazda]

Now that the political parties are moving away from seaside resorts for their conferences, Manchester already gained over Blackpool once.

[FLD]

If it's anything like on the scale of say the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, then you can kiss goodbye to any form of night life in central Manchester, as this will completely dominate the entertainment/restaurant scene! Oldham & Ashton-under-Lyne will become ghost towns.

Well done Manchester any way, if ever there was an area that needed the investment it was where this is going to be built!!

[BeardedGenius]

I wonder how Manchester235 feel about this!

[Irwell]

It's being developed by Kerzner. Personally I hope it's more along the style of their Sun City casino rather than one of the Vegas ones.

[BeardedGenius]

Originally Posted by FLD

If it's anything like on the scale of say the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, then you can kiss goodbye to any form of night life in central Manchester, as this will completely dominate the entertainment/restaurant scene! Oldham & Ashton-under-Lyne will become ghost towns.

Well done Manchester any way, if ever there was an area that needed the investment it was where this is going to be built!!

I love the barbed comments from our Liverpudlian cousins!

You cant help but feel there is some sort of goverment agenda to create another UK World city and everything like this helps. Having only 1 they realise is not enough anymore and where else is better then the Manchester Metro with Liverpool close by. Personally I feel sick to my stomach with this decision. They didnt deserve it but still got it. Blackpool really need to appeal this because this is just another big cock up.

Im sorry Manchester, might sound bad but its not as if you need it. east Manchester housed the commonwealth games just over 5 years ago. You got a free stadium out of it aswell.

This was a massive decision for nobody else but Blackpool and it it went against them. What a massive fuck up.

[Isaac Newell]

To be honest I have no sympathy with Blackpool, the hoteliers and locals always treated their visitors like shit and the place is dying a natural death.

Whilst I'm against the Casino in Manchester, it ties in perfectly with what the city is becoming, a conference destination and will make it make the city more attractive for the annual double galzing conference.

Unfortunately it will bring problem gambling, increased organized crime at all levels, I would also imagine it would lead they way in the future legalization of prostitution.

A good move in the context of what Manchester is becoming, a bad move if you are uneasy with what it is becoming.

[larven]

Originally Posted by Irwell

It's being developed by Kerzner. Personally I hope it's more along the style of their Sun City casino rather than one of the Vegas ones.

Kerzner's not involved in Sun City anymore. The company that took over, Sun International, were looking at a site in Sheffield for their bid.

[Mancunian Monkey]

I think everyone is stunned about this. It should have gone to Blackpool but oh well! VIVA LAS MANCHESTER!!!

[Irwell]

Originally Posted by larven

Kerzner's not involved in Sun City anymore. The company that took over, Sun International, were looking at a site in Sheffield for their bid.

But Kerzner built the Sun City casino, which is what my point is. I don't care if someone buys Manc's casino from them, as long as we get a decent development along those lines instead of some tacky Vegas-style casino.

[afk9000]

Wow im really quite taken aback by this, can anybody give me a quick round-up for the reasoning behind this, i was under the impression blackpool and the dome were the hot favourites, how did it end up going to manchester??

[flange]

Manchester hits casino jackpot



MANCHESTER today hit the jackpot with glittering plans for Britain's first Las Vegas-style super casino.

In a surprise move, the city beat rivals including Blackpool and the Dome in London with its £265m plan to regenerate a part of east Manchester with a gambling mecca which would offer up to 70 gaming tables and 1,250 slot machines with million pound prizes.

The independent Casino Advisory Panel, appointed by the government, chose Manchester from a shortlist of seven sites, also including Glasgow, Newcastle, Cardiff and Sheffield.

The decision marks an incredible turnaround after Manchester finished bottom of the provisional shortlist - bookmakers had made the city only a 15-1 chance.

But the decision is also a massive blow for Blackpool, which was hoping to transform the resort with the massive investment a super-casino would bring.

Media representatives were caught on the hop, with camera crews waiting expectantly in Blackpool and London for the verdict.

Manchester's successful bid promises 2,700 jobs at Sportcity in Beswick, near the City of Manchester Stadium. It will provide a hotel, a swimming pool, restaurants and bars. Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell is likely to welcome the decision in the Commons later today, despite fears the super-casino could lead to problem gambling.

Reasons

Chair of the Panel, Professor Stephen Crow, said: “All of the seven shortlisted proposals that we examined further had their merits in their own way, could be a good test of social impact of a casino, are in need of, and could benefit from regeneration, and showed evidence of willingness to license a casino.

“However our duty for the regional casino was to choose only one area that best met our criteria and – after much consideration – the Panel was won over by how well the Manchester proposal in particular delivered against the full range of requirements set out in the criteria against which the judgments were made.

“The Panel’s full remit was to recommend to the Secretary of State the best locations for the one regional, eight large and eight small casinos in the light of the criteria set by her. Arriving at the recommendations for all seventeen casinos required the consideration of a wealth of evidence, and we are grateful to the very large number of people who contributed to the process.

“All the proposals shortlisted for the regional casino presented their own particular and compelling strengths. We were, however, particularly impressed by Manchester’s proposal, which in our view offers great promise.

“We found that the proposal had a unique formula to offer which served to set it apart from the others presented to us in terms of the full range of our specific remitted criteria of best test of social impact, regeneration need and benefits and willingness to license.

“Manchester represents a good place to test social impact, and the council’s consultations with other local authorities and relevant bodies gave us confidence on that.

Catchment area

“Manchester has a catchment area for a casino second only to that of London, and it is an area in need of regeneration at least as much as any of the others we observed – indeed, the city has the greatest need in terms of multiple deprivation of all the proposals that were before us.

“We are impressed that the council’s plan has been developed, and is proposed to be taken forward, in close consultation with the communities that would benefit from it, and note in addition that Manchester is one of England’s eight “Core Cities” which Government policy sees as drivers of national and regional economic growth. In our view, the proposal presents the most complete package in terms of meeting our remitted criteria.

“Further evidence of why we are recommending Manchester, along with our reasons for the selection of the other sixteen large and small casinos, and our views on all of the proposals shortlisted for the regional, and large and small casinos, are set out in more detail in our final report on our website.

“We have, at every stage, paid particular attention to ensuring the process we have undertaken has been open, and fair, and we have to that end posted details of evidence we have considered – along with relevant meeting minutes and reports – on our website for all to see and consider. We have issued press statements at key milestones.

“We have been open throughout the process about potential conflicts of interest and put in place measures to ensure that our final recommendations would be free from interest, bias or prejudice. And it is in this spirit of transparency that we are issuing alongside this press release a thorough account of our processes, considerations and reasons as part of our final report.”

[Biosonic]

Originally Posted by pricemazda

So Manchester got it because it was a good guinea pig? Blackpool needed this, Manchester has so many eggs in its basket, Blackpool has none.

Precisely - when the government got rid of plans for 8 supercasinos and went with just one, it was because they wanted to test the idea first.

Blackpool's time will come.

Anyone notice that Blackpool and Greenwich don't appear to make it on the "large" casino list?

Funny.

[skit_uk]

Maybe blackpool shouldn't have put all their eggs in one basket? To be fair blackpool is very deprived and i think this would have caused much more problems than in london or Manc.

I really don't think it will cause the problems that some people are saying, the end of nightlife and restraunts in manchester city center? Erm No, oldham and ashton become ghost towns, No again. It's just one casino albeit a big un but it's nothing like on the scale of vegas or atlanta city.

[afk9000]

Well congradulations on the decision, doesnt do much for the manchester favouritism conspiracies though ;-)