Venetian owner in U.K. casino deals

Thursday, March 25, 2004 | 11:15 a.m.

The company that built The Venetian in Las Vegas and is building a hotel-casino in Macau is now participating in two hotel-casino projects in deals with two soccer clubs in the United Kingdom.

Las Vegas Sands Inc. on Wednesday issued a statement confirming that it would assist the Glasgow Rangers and Sheffield United football clubs in their efforts to build casinos next to their stadiums.

The company confirmed media reports earlier Wednesday that they were involved in European projects, but the accounts from British media were not clear that there were deals with two separate teams in two cities.

In a statement, William Weidner, president and chief operating officer of Las Vegas Sands, said the two deals set the stage for other new projects, including construction of the Phase II development at The Venetian on the Las Vegas Strip.

"With the proposed changes in the gaming laws of the United Kingdom, Las Vegas Sands is excited to be looking at potential opportunities to develop our quality casinos in that market," Weidner said.

He said the company "will continue to strongly pursue any opportunities that are in the best interests of the company and its employees."

The announcement did not disclose terms of the agreement with the two soccer teams, the Glasgow Rangers of Scotland and Sheffield United of London.

Weidner said the company is interested in other opportunities in the United Kingdom, but isn't locked in to deals only with soccer teams. A spokesman for the company said the company is capitalizing on the popularity of soccer, known in the United Kingdom as football, and the availability of land controlled by the teams.

The Sheffield deal will include an eight-story, 120-unit hotel, a small residential component, a casino, a retail outlet, a parking garage, restaurants and a fitness club on a 200,000-square-foot site. Sheffield officials said the project would create 2,000 jobs in addition to 450 construction jobs.

"This is an exciting development not only for United, but in particular for the city," said company Chairman Kevin McCabe in a statement. "The partnership with Las Vegas Sands Inc. provides a fantastic opportunity for Sheffield to benefit from world-class leisure, entertainment facilities and gaming facilities so close to the heart of the city."

The Glasgow project, located in a master plan known as the Ibrox Community Sporting and Leisure Campus at Ibrox Stadium, also would create 2,000 jobs.

Glasgow officials valued the project, to be anchored by a casino, at $219.8 million. They said they expected that project to be completed by fall 2007.

The campus would be anchored with a 168,000-square-foot leisure and entertainment complex, which will include stores, restaurants and a casino.

In Great Britain, sports and gambling have long been associated with each other. The nation, however, is undergoing a deregulation of gambling laws to allow more casinos and slot machines.