Osaka prefecture Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura says it is highly likely that new restrictions put in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19 across the region will impact the timeline of Osaka’s IR operator recruitment.
Yoshimura has requested that all recreational facilities, sports facilities and amusement parks in the prefecture close from 14 April to 6 May, stating on Thursday, “This is a strict request. I want to somehow prevent an outbreak of this infection before the 6th of next month.
“The number of those infected daily with COVID-19 in Osaka prefecture hit a new high on 9 April at 92 patients. If this continues, we will be in the same position as Tokyo, where numbers are increasing.”
Asked how this might affect Osaka’s IR plans, the Governor replied, “We initially intended to collect operator proposals by the end of April. However, upon discussion with MGM, we have postponed this deadline to the end of July.
“MGM is located in Las Vegas, Nevada, and because the city itself is on lockdown, the IR work has been suspended. Although we are doing what we can at the prefectural office, we have postponed the recruitment procedure. So, in that way, there is a clear impact [on IR].”
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