Inspire Athens
Views: 6,406 Subscribe

The last update for this project made on this page, dated from April 2022, mentioned that the Hard Rock would undertake the implementation of this project.
Now, according to the Hard Rock Hotels page itself, oficially posted about it:

https://www.hardrockhotels.com/news/hard-rock-international-commences-partnership-with-gek-terna-group-to-create-a-luxury-resort-and-casino-in-the-heart-of-the-athens-riviera-/

The project will now be called Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Athens, and is set to open in 2026.
Besides, the Chairman and CEO of GEK TERNA Group stated that the group, along with Hard Rock, are realizing a private investment of over 1 billion euros.
The development will bring a casino of just under 15,000 m2.

The Inspire Athens casino project is important as it is slated to provide 7,000 jobs during the construction and after it, as well as open the new era of tourism and economic growth for Greece and Southeast Europe. However, by the end of 2021 the Inspire Athens project underwent changes:

The Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment reviewed their future operations and commitments announcing the transfer of its entire stake in the project to GEK Terna who was previously a minor investor. It’s reported that GEK Terna was looking for a company to fill Mohegan’s share and had discussions with the US company, Hard Rock Hotels & Casinos, who has already bid in 2019 but unsuccessfully.

Considering the latest Greek news dated February 2022, the two groups reached an agreement that Hard Rock will undertake the implementation of the whole project and then participate in its management. The US group will acquire 51% of the capital but the final agreement has not been signed yet. However, will the change in the shares composition affect the announced opening dates is still an open question.


Sources:

https://casinobeats.com/2021/11/08/mohegan-withdraws-inspire-athens-hellinikon-plans/

https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/short_news/mohegan-pulls-out-of-greek-mega-casino-project/

https://www.sofokleousin.gr/i-hard-rock-etairos-tis-gek-terna-sto-kazino-ellinikou

Some new concept art that I hadn't seen before. This predates Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment pulling out of the deal however.





Source: https://news.gtp.gr/2020/12/17/hellinikons-inspire-athens-project-to-boost-intl-tourism-in-attica-by-10/

Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment is out:

In October 2020, a consortium among two wholly owned unrestricted subsidiaries of the Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority d/b/a Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment (the “Company”) and GEK Terna Holding Real Estate Construction S.A. (“GEK Terna”) of Greece was selected by the Hellenic Gaming Commission (the “Commission”) as the provisional contractor to develop an integrated resort and casino near Athens, Greece (the “Athens Project”). Subsequently, the Company conducted a comprehensive review of its operations and future commitments against the new backdrop created by the COVID-19 global pandemic and concluded that it would not continue to pursue the concession rights for the Athens Project. Accordingly, on September 17, 2021, the Company, through its unrestricted subsidiaries, transferred all of its equity ownership in the Athens Project to GEK Terna, previously the minority investor in the project. The Company and GEK Terna coordinated the equity transfer with the requisite government officials in Greece, including approval by the Commission on October 22, 2021. The final transfer of the consortium’s reliance on the Company’s technical and professional capacity and experience in the development and operation of integrated resort casinos remains pending, along with other administrative procedures for final governmental and regulatory review.

https://app.quotemedia.com/data/downloadFiling?webmasterId=102842&ref=116209397&type=PDF&formType=8-K&formDescription=Current+report+pursuant+to+Section+13+or+15%28d%29&dateFiled=2021-10-27&cik=0001005276&CK=1005276

The luxury casino resort on the site of the former Athens airport (Hellinikon) will be ready by 2026.

In January 2020, Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment won the bid to build an integrated resort and casino, a project called ‘Inspire Athens’.

“Right now, we anticipate that upon conclusion of the contractual negotiation process, permitting and design will take approximately 12 to 18 months”, Ray Pineault, Interim Chief Executive Officer at Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment told the Delphi Economic Forum. He said that the resort was expected to open in 2025 or 2026.

Source: https://greekcitytimes.com/2021/05/17/casino-resort-in-athens-2026/

Steelman Partners is honored that its design of INSPIRE Athens for Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment and GEK TERNA has been awarded the casino-operating license for a casino resort within the former Helinikon International Airport in Athens. The inspiration for the architecture comes from Greece’s architectural past, and in particular, from the Athenian statues and buildings. INSPIRE Athens will feature a luxury hotel, several entertainment venues, a convention center, retail, restaurants and a casino.

https://www.inparkmagazine.com/steelman-inspire-athens/

Status: announced