Australia’s Star Entertainment Group has outlined plans to invest AU$100 million into the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre and redevelop the Sheraton Grand Mirage beachfront resort, including construction of a new tower, as part of its AU$9 billion Southeast Queensland expansion initiative.
But the plans are contingent on the Queensland state government scrapping its pursuit of a second casino on the Gold Coast.
Star Entertainment Group Chairman John O’Neill detailed the company’s latest Gold Coast ambitions during an address to shareholders at its AGM on Thursday, with the latest proposal coming on top of the AU$2 billion Gold Coast Masterplan that Star has already put forward.
Upgrading the current Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre (GCCEC), an ageing facility connected to The Star Gold Coast by walkway, has long been discussed by local and state governments as a key means of driving further tourism to the region.
“This is an investment that could have the project commence immediately after an agreement is reached,” O’Neill said. “It’s not work that might be somewhere down the track. It’s real and we’re ready to commit here and now.
“Given GCCEC is a Government asset, the detail of any works would be for Government to determine. But there is a 6000-seat venue at GCCEC which has hosted major international acts in the past – so a significant facelift will also provide the Gold Coast with an opportunity to attract some of the world’s biggest musical acts.”
At the Sheraton Grand Mirage – opened in the 1980s and purchased by Star in 2017 for AU$140 million – the company wants to invest in a comprehensive upgrade that would include a new restaurant, bar, gym and beach club, with a low-rise development added on an adjoining site.
Ironically, the Sheraton is located directly alongside the site originally earmarked for a second Gold Coast casino, The Spit, roughly 8km north of The Star.
But O’Neill warned that moving forward with its plans for the Sheraton and convention center upgrades “would require exclusivity arrangements which we would similarly discuss with Government.”
“Our commitment to Queensland and the Gold Coast is well documented,” he said. “The Government, however, continues to speculate about a second casino on the Gold Coast.
The Star’s position has always been: we support investment in tourism assets on the Gold Coast, but the Gold Coast market is too small for two casinos.
“The introduction of another local casino competitor would force us to defend our local market share at the expense of driving incremental interstate and international tourism.
“This has been a distraction for some seven years. The process has yielded nothing but considerable cost – tens of millions of dollars – to Governments and proponents, and is impacting our business, weighing on our share price.
“To that end, and in the hope of breaking the deadlock of seven years, we are reaching out to the Queensland Government.”
Star Entertainment Group’s original AU$2 billion Gold Coast Masterplan would see a total of five new towers developed around the site of The Star Gold Coast, two of which are already well underway.
O’Neill told shareholders on Thursday that, should the remaining three proceed, the company had now finalized its plans for Tower 5 which would feature a five-star hotel plus a Sky Park tourism playground with adventure, entertainment and luxury dining attractions.
