The development, slated for the undeveloped land in the acompanying photo, will total 6.1 million sf, including a 1.2 million-sf convention center capable of accommodating 52,000 people. Las Vegas Sands' plan is to open the Marina Bay Sands in 2009. Its share price is up nearly 10% in afternoon trading and is up 80% since the start of the year.
Las Vegas Sands president and chief operating officer William Weidner says the company's long-standing relationships with leading meeting and convention organizers "empower us with the ability to produce a steady and predictable flow of visitors to Singapore."
In addition to the convention center, the Marina Bay Sands will offer 2,500 hotel rooms in three hotel towers topped by a 2.4-acre skypark, two 2,000-seat theatres, a 220,000-sf ArtScience museum, luxury retail outlets, and unique dining venues such as the floating pavilions in the Marina Bay. There also be public spaces and activity nodes such as an ice-skating rink and indoor canals.
Las Vegas Sands owns The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino and the Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas, and the Sands Macao in the People's Republic of China. The company is also developing additional casino hotel resort properties in Macau, including the Macao Venetian Casino Resort.
Eight teams purchased bid documents for the project in November and four teams submitted proposals by the March 29 deadline. A government panel then graded the bids in several categories, including tourism appeal, architectural concept and design, development investment and bidders' financial strength.
"Sands had submitted the best overall proposal that meets our economic and tourism objectives," said Jayakumar.
Some analysts had expected the winning bid to be that of MGM Mirage and its local partner, CapitaLand, Southeast Asia's biggest property group. Another expected contender was Harrah's Entertainment, the world's biggest gaming operator, and its local partner, developer Keppel Land.
Singapore will offer a second casino site, on the resort island of Sentosa, later this year. There will be only two gaming operators for 10 years.
Last month, Weidner said Las Vegas Sands may sell shares to finance 40% of its proposal for the resort. The company is considering three separate funding proposals from Citigroup Inc., Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
Earlier this month, the company reported first-quarter profit rose to $121.8 million from $7.1 million a year earlier. Sales rose 31% to $530.4 million. In late afternoon trading, shares of Las Vegas Sands stood at $69.92, up 9.8% on the day. The company's share price began the year at $38.68.
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