Kingsway Entertainment District is one of the topics of fervent discussion in the Greater Sudbury area, as it is a large project which could greatly influence the local economy. Recently, Ward 3 Coun. Gerry Montpellier expressed his concerns regarding the proposed casino part of the project and whether or not it will see the light of day.
Gateway Casinos and Entertainment is the casino operator supposed to develop its own casino complex within the large entertainment zone. The future complex is expected to introduce a well-rounded array of offerings able to keep individuals coming back for more and ultimately making Kingsway Entertainment District even more popular. However, the project has been put on hold for quite a while.
Ward 3 Coun. Gerry Montpellier
The delays related to the entertainment zone project are triggering more questions and uncertainty as time goes by. Local councilors have an ongoing conversation on the subject, seeking more answers. Coun. Montpellier is one of the individuals following closely everything happening around Kingsway Entertainment District and asking the burning questions.
Over the past months, he raised the question regarding the proposed hotel venue coming with the casino complex overseen by Gateway Casinos. For the time being, Mr. Montpellier claims he has not received a comprehensive answer. Now he wants to know whether the community should rely on Gateway Casinos to follow through with its previously unveiled plans for a casino complex within Kingsway Entertainment District. The ultimate goal of his queries is to trigger a conversation and receive more clarity on the timeline of the project.
This year has been a challenging one for the community and for this particular large project, as the LPAT hearings related to it have been delayed and postponed. This has caused a level of uncertainty within the City Council and the Greater Sudbury region. Coun. Montpellier recently produced an email conversation between him and Robert Mitchell, Director of Communications and Public Affairs for Gateway Casinos.
Uncertainty Grows
It expressed an already familiar direction for the casino operator, which is focused on reopening its brick-and-mortar locations right now. The unprecedented situation has taken its toll on in-person gambling across all Canadian provinces and Gateway Casinos had to shut down all of its casinos and gambling halls back in March.
A reopening of some of them took place in September and ever since then, the situation has been dynamically changing every week. This is the reason why Mr. Mitchell clarified that all resources are focused on the official reopening of casino locations, instead of on the construction of new brick-and-mortar casinos complexes. He also pointed out that no timeline for the project could be issued at this time, as the situation changes frequently.
In previous statements, Gateway Casinos has confirmed its willingness to build Starlight Casino Sudbury on the premises of Kingsway Entertainment District and that this project will come to fruition once the entertainment zone receives green light for its own construction. Right now, all of Ontario’s Gateway casinos are open, with the exception of Casino Rama.
