Sands BethWorks
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Sands BethWorks is a proposed casino in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The casino will be owned, operated, and constructed by the Las Vegas Sands corporation. It was one of five out of thirteen casinos to be awarded a slots licence by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board on December 20, 2006. The casino was slated to open in July 2008, but demolition is taking longer than expected due to the enormous concrete foundations of the old Steel building, and its opening has been delayed until the second quarter of 2009, which the company says they expect to meet. The first concrete for the complex, which is located on the former Bethlehem Steel land on the south side of the city, was poured on November 15, 2007 at a ceremony attended by the President of Las Vegas Sands Corp.
Phase 1, estimated at $350 million, consists of a casino and hotel with an industrial look. The casino will have 3,000 slot machines, a 300-room hotel, a concert hall-type venue (which essentially nixed plans for the originally-designated multiplex movie theater), dozens of restaurants and upscale retail shops and also a parking garage for nearly 6,000 vehicles. The site has a total of 126 acres. This enables the casino to grow and donate pieces of land to allow ArtsQuest, a local arts foundation, to build a performing arts center and 3,500-seat concert hall, and the creation of the National Museum of Industrial History to honor the history of Bethlehem Steel. Retailers that have signed on include Barneys New York, Tommy Hilfiger, Polo Ralph Lauren, Kenneth Cole, Eddie Bauer, Nike, Adidas, Reebok, Salvatore Ferragamo, Tourneau, The Cheescake Factory, and possibly another upscale department store such as Neiman Marcus or Saks Fifth Avenue.[1]
Plans also exist for as many as 1,200 loft apartments. This brings the full project cost to $879 million. Upon final completion, it would be one of the largest casinos in the entire state.[2][3]
