Foxwoods Plans $700M Expansion

Scheduled to begin in the summer of this year, it will quadruple Foxwoods' space for corporate meetings, conventions and trade shows. Some of the main features of the new plan include: a new hotel tower that will feature 825 rooms and suites and a 21,000-sf spa; 145,000 sf of additional meeting space; a 50,000-sf ballroom; 50,000 sf of new gaming space; four restaurants; two nightclubs and 10,000 sf of retail space.

"The Tribal Nation made the decision to open a new resort at Foxwoods after careful study of the market," says Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation chairman Michael Thomas. "This major growth of the resort is part of the tribe's master plan that will make Foxwoods an even more attractive destination resort with a full complement of amenities for our guests."

Construction on the expansion is expected to be completed by the summer of 2008. When completed, the project will provide Foxwoods with a 2,900-space parking garage and a fourth hotel that will give the resort 60% more hotel rooms and suites. Currently, the complex has 1,416 rooms in three hotels. The project is expected to create 2,300 full-time jobs upon completion.

Currently, Foxwoods features about five million sf of gaming, dining,entertainment and retail space, including six casinos with more than 7,400 slot machines and 380 table games. Last year a $300-million expansion of the property was completed. That endeavor included the construction of a 300-seat Hard Rock Café, a 2,100-space parking garage, a new Wampum Rewards Mega Store and additional retail and gaming space.

In May 2005, the Lake of Isles Golf Resort will open. The resort will feature two golf courses designed by Rees Jones surrounding a 90-acre lake, a 50,000-sf clubhouse, corporate villas and a golf academy.