Carpark deal clears way for casino expansion
An artist's impression of the new Festival Plaza, beneath which will be a rebuilt car park.
Skycity has reached a deal with Walker Corporation that it says clears the way for its $350 million Adelaide Casino expansion.
The Australasian casino operator today announced it had secured the exclusive lease of 750 car parks from the 1,560 car parks in the proposed Festival Centre underground carpark.
It said the car park lease was a key condition of the casino expansion plan.
Last Saturday, the state government unveiled its agreement with the Walker Corporation for a $610 million redevelopment of the Festival Plaza precinct, including an expanded underground carpark adjacent to Adelaide Casino.
Skycity CEO Nigel Morrison said the company was pleased with the deal.
“This is a major step forward in creating Adelaide’s premier entertainment, hospitality and cultural precinct, and will strongly complement the successful redevelopment of the Adelaide Oval and the significant expansion of the Adelaide Convention Centre currently being undertaken,” he said.
“With the announcement of this development and the key terms of the car park lease now confirmed, Skycity can now progress its plans to transform the Adelaide Casino into a world-class integrated entertainment complex.
“We continue to explore a range of different expansion options and hope to finalise these plans over the coming months.”
Skycity’s agreement with Walker Corporation secures exclusive access to the 750 carparks under a fixed-term lease until 2035.
The lease will cost $4.7 million in the year after the car park is complete, with the annual cost increasing at the rate of inflation plus 0.5 per cent – but on the condition that the increase is no less than 2.5 per cent, and no more than 3.5 per cent.
The deal requires Walker Corporation to begin developing the underground car park by 1 July 2016 and complete the project by the end of 2018.
Morrison said the deal did not expose Skycity to any development or financing risk.
He said the leasing costs were consistent with those agreed between the state government and Walker Corporation for the government’s lease of 400 Festival Plaza car parks.
