In 2020, Aurora Alderman Emmanuel Llamas said people living in neighborhoods nearby already opposed the idea of moving Hollywood Casino near Farnsworth Avenue. He credited 'Mayor Richard Irvin and his staff' for their support. 'Since the change in law to permit land-side casino relocation in Illinois, we have been exploring the viability of relocating our aging riverboats in Aurora and Joliet,' Snowden said in his statement.

Muhammed said the city has been in talks with casino officials about moving from downtown for quite some time. If approved, construction would begin in late 2023, Penn Entertainment said.

Muhammed said details on the plan will be presented to the public at a city council finance committee meeting at 3 p.m. 'The proposal from Penn represents one of the most significant developments in the history of Aurora,' Muhammed said. The plan calls for the city to give over the land, which used to host two hotels the city purchased for around $7 million in 2018 and later razed, and pay for up to $50 million of the project by issuing new bonds. Penn is planning a similar shift with Hollywood Casino Joliet, in which its riverside casino outside the suburb would be closed and a new facility built within the new Rock Run Crossings development by the interchange of interstates 80 and 55.Īurora city spokesman Clayton Muhammed said the plan calls for the new casino complex to be built on city-owned land near Farnsworth Avenue and Bilter Road next to Chicago Premium Outlets. The location would also have new bars, restaurants and a spa, according to the news release from the Pennsylvania-based company that owns 43 casinos and racetracks in the U.S.

'Our plan for Aurora is to construct a modern, best-in-class casino and hotel in an ideal location off I-88 that will allow us to serve the millions of visitors to the adjacent Simon Premium Outlet Mall,' said Jay Snowden, CEO and president of Penn Entertainment, referring to the Chicago Premium Outlets mall. But the new casino complex would also have a 200-room hotel with about 10,000 square feet of meeting and event space.

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