The massive 450-foot guitar hotel towers above the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Hollywood like a recently arrived space ship. There is nothing anywhere in the region that resembles it, and it’s unclear whether anyone fully understands its potential financial might.
Amid headline acts, light shows and other fanfare, the Hard Rock will publicly debut its $1.5 billion expansion this coming Thursday with light beams shooting 20,000 feet into the sky. The project includes Hard Rock Live, a multi-tiered, 6,556-seat theater that is destined to be an entertainment hub for everything from Broadway shows to headline concerts to boxing matches. Besides nearly 640 new hotel rooms in the guitar hotel, there also will be a promenade of more than 20 shops, fancy new restaurants, a new nightclub venue and a lagoon called Bora Bora.
Should South Florida’s area resorts, performing arts centers, club owners and restaurateurs be worried about losing business?
Since the tribe operates as an independent nation, the county doesn’t collect taxes on the Hard Rock and has no figures on how much revenue and tourist traffic the resort generates, said a marketing manager at the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau.
But James Allen, CEO of Seminole Gaming and chairman of Hard Rock International, says the Hard Rock views the project as a contributor to the economy. He projected 15,000 to 20,000 daily visitors during the week and up to 45,000 on Saturdays. He said the employee count is headed toward 4,000 people in the wake of multiple job fairs since the summer. The expansion project itself generated 2,400 construction jobs.
Between the tribe’s expansion projects in Hollywood and Tampa, the Hard Rock’s research projected the creation of a combined 19,000 direct and indirect jobs in their respective areas.
The new portion of the gambling and entertainment resort enclave between Florida’s Turnpike and State Road 7 was alive with guests Friday — tribal members and their families. As kids splashed in pools and parents sipped drinks in cabanas in the new Bora Bora lagoon area, legions of workers crawled around the property planting trees and shrubbery and erecting fencing.
Outside, three tractor trailers waited to unload crystals for the massive chandeliers that will hang in the landmark guitar hotel’s lobby. Inside, workers put the finishing touches on the clamshell Hard Rock Live, where the seating capacity slightly exceeds that of the 6,015-seat Radio City Music Hall in New York.
“We spared no expense at creating something that’s just not about live music, it’s also set up for complete TV, any event like Broadway. Obviously, boxing and martial arts,” Allen said. The venue’s first performance will be on Friday, Oct. 25, by Adam Levine and Maroon 5.
Allen said Hard Rock soon will be announcing residencies with “some world-class artists,” something the resort had been unable to do with its existing facilities.
All told, the flagship casino resort owned by the Seminole Tribe of Florida boasts 13.5 acres of recreation waterscape, an expanded casino and the theater that can host a little more than 7,000 with standing room only.
Among the highlights:
The guitar hotel rises 450 feet and offers 638 luxury rooms and suites. Each suite has floor-to-ceiling windows, all contoured with the shape of the hotel’s guitar-shaped exterior. Guests can see the outlines of downtown Fort Lauderdale and Miami. One can even take a bath while taking in the view of a city.
The Oasis Tower is a seven-story,168-room hotel with a view of the guitar hotel and overlooking a lagoon and pool area. Ground-level suites have their own pool access.
Bora Bora is a private lagoon outfitted with exclusive cabanas and dedicated service. The cabanas are currently set up for day rentals, but can be positioned for overnight stays, a spokesman said.
The new promenade of boutique storefronts covering 26,000 square feet along a marble-floored walkway. An Italian restaurant is being readied for next week’s opening, Allen said. More than 20 stores will open their doors as scheduled Thursday.
The DAER Nightclub contains 18,800 square feet of indoor space, but a massive folding glass window can be deployed so the club can become an indoor-outdoor space. An adjacent 4,000-square-foot rooftop club will offer visitors an overview of the lagoon and pool area.
It’s easy to tour the resort and gain the impression that visitors don’t need to gamble to have a good time there. Allen said he’s happy to host both gamblers and families who simply want to kick back for some vacation down time.
But the casino has grown to 195,000 square feet and has more than 200 table games like blackjack and baccarat, as well as more than 3,100 “of the latest slot machines.”
“The guitar tower will attract casino players and other visitors from throughout the country and around the world,” Allen said. “It will put South Florida on the map as a world-class gaming destination and it will have a huge economic impact on Florida. The gaming industry will never be the same.”
