The City of Springfield is taking the operators of the MGM Springfield casino to court, claiming it has fallen well short of its host community agreement. All the while, two media outlets have reported a sale of the casino was in the works.
It was Thursday afternoon when the office of Mayor Domenic Sarno announced the city was filing a legal complaint involving MGM Resorts International and Blue Tarp Redevelopment, LLC. Blue Tarp operates the casino, while MGM Resorts is its parent company.
It's been the case since Springfield and the LLC signed off on a Host Community Agreement in 2013. The agreement included commitments by the casino to try to employ 3,000 people, bring almost 3,000 slot and gaming machines and refurbish a building at 101 State St.
According to the city’s complaint, MGM Springfield has fallen short on all three fronts, with roughly half of the workforce target met and half of the gaming equipment provided.
Court documents also claim little visible work has been done on 101 State St. Claiming a breach of contract, the city is demanding relief.
On Friday, The Boston Globe and Springfield Republican newspapers reported there's another story afoot.
MGM Resorts has not publicly announced a sale of MGM Springfield, but, both outlets reported a buyer had been materializing.
Citing a conversation with Springfield's City Solicitor and court paperwork, the Springfield Republican/MassLive reported the Toronto-based Clairvest Group appeared to be involved - a firm that recently purchased another MGM casino - MGM Northfield Park in Ohio for $546 million.
The news comes over two years after rumors of a potential MGM Springfield sale emerged, though concerns appeared to lessen after meetings between Sarno and MGM leadership at the time.
WAMC has reached out to the city, MGM Springfield and Clairvest Group for comment.
