Summary:
- LVS wants to build a huge resort in Dallas modeled after Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands
- Company executive Andy Abood says Dallas is one of the few places that could support a project of this scale.
- Community pushback and state politics remain major obstacles.
A massive resort modeled after Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands could soon start rising in Texas, and the company behind it says the idea is more than wishful thinking.
Las Vegas Sands, which owns the famous waterfront property in Singapore, told NBC 5 it wants to build something on the same scale in Dallas. But before anything happens, the company will have to clear some serious political and community hurdles.
Marina Bay Sands is a good example of what the company has in mind. The 55-story complex opened in 2010 and is basically its own small city.
About 12,000 people work across its 1,800 rooms, huge convention center, underground mall, dozens of restaurants, theater, nightclub, and the rooftop infinity pool that has become a global landmark. Built for 5.6 billion dollars, the resort drew 38 million visitors last year and earned the company more than 2 billion dollars before taxes.
Las Vegas Sands wants to bring that kind of scale to Dallas. The company has already stepped away from most of its American footprint, selling the Venetian and Palazzo in 2022. Its remaining properties are in Macau and Singapore, and executives say it’s time to establish a major American base again.
Andy Abood, a senior vice president with the company said,
So Dallas is the other place in the world that we think can match Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. It’s that simple. There is not this level of facility even in Las Vegas Nevada, so people need to rethink anything they’ve ever seen in the borders, what they’ve seen in the state of Texas, what they’ve seen in Las Vegas and think of a whole new level of hospitality entertainment experience.
“The Bigger, the Better.”
When asked whether the company is promising too much, Abood pushed back.
I don’t think that the people who built the Astrodome in the 60s and 70s and in Houston overpromised. I don’t think Jerry Johns overpromised when he built the Dallas Cowboys Stadium.
He says a Dallas version of Marina Bay Sands could go up within two or three years if the state and local leaders get behind it. Several locations are being floated, including Trinity Groves, the former Texas Stadium site, the Mavericks’ practice facility, and Fair Park.
“The bigger the better”, Abood said, adding that a project of this size would create room for other businesses to grow around it.
However, two obstacles stand in the way: Texas would need to legalize casinos, and the company would need a city willing to host it. Opponents have already shown they’re ready to fight. Residents in Irving helped stall a casino proposal earlier this year, saying
No one chose to live in Irving so they could live next to a casino.
Sands is still pushing, arguing that North Texas has the population growth, airports, business climate, and “a huge underground gambling they want to legalize and regulate”. Whether the state agrees remains the big question.
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