New Zealand headquartered SkyCity Entertainment Group has undergone a busy period of late, with an AU$330m renovation of its Adelaide property kick started earlier in the year, followed by the AU$188m sale of its Northern Territory located SkyCity Darwin, to global hospitality and entertainment firm Delaware North.
The entertainment and gaming organisation, who owns and operates a number of casinos in its homeland as well as neighbouring Australia, saw its Adelaide casino report stable turnover recently, in spite of disruption caused by ongoing construction work.
Furthermore, current Premier of South Australia Steven Marshall issued high praised on the project recently, stressing how integral the development could be in the growth of the South Australian state.
“The development and private investment shows great confidence in South Australia’s tourism potential”
Discussing such statements and the impact of the renovations on the region, Luke Walker, general manager of SkyCity Adelaide Casino, explained: “The development and private investment shows great confidence in South Australia’s tourism potential.
“The local tourism market is on an upward trajectory and the development will allow us to provide a level of luxury accommodation, function and conference facilities, dining and gaming that is not currently available in Adelaide. We believe this will open the doors to attracting a new group of high-end visitors to the state.
“Aside from the benefits of attracting high-end tourism, the development will create 1000 jobs over the construction period and an additional 800 ongoing jobs on completion, bringing our total workforce to almost 2000 staff. This puts us amongst the largest employers in Adelaide which we are very proud of.”
Before going on to highlight just why such an extensive project was undertaken at this particular property, and the multitude of benefits set to be brought upon completion in 2020: “The scale of this project will see Adelaide Casino step up and become a world-class integrated resort.
“The opportunity that exists to grow the South Australian tourism market – which is already very buoyant – is huge and we believe that our new facilities will attract high-end visitors to the state, who previously haven’t considered the destination due to a lack of luxury accommodation.
“Adelaide Casino sits at the heart of the Riverbank Precinct, and our expansion and surrounding plaza works are a major contributor to creating an amazing entertainment hub, bringing us together with our neighbours the iconic Adelaide Oval, Adelaide Convention Centre and Adelaide Festival Centre.
“It’s an opportunity to create a world-class precinct that will not only change the way locals interact with their city, but also open it up to visitors from interstate and around the world.”
In addition to the numerous benefits set to be seen by Adelaide and the wider state of South Australia, SkyCity also counts a number of close links to the local community as key to the ingrained relationship it currently enjoys.
“We are all working together to grow visitation”
Chief amongst these is the support handed out to a number of sports teams and events, with Walker keen to stress how important such relationships are: “Two of our longest running partnerships are with the two local Australian Rules Football teams the Adelaide Crows and Port Adelaide. Through partnering with both of these clubs, we are able to become an active participant in one of Adelaide’s most popular activities – watching the footy.
“We work with current and former stars of the game to give our customers access to their favourite players, and to provide expert commentary on games.
“These experiences allow us to provide unique opportunities for our customers, and allow us to bring them closer to the game.
“We are also a great supporter of the arts, working with the Adelaide Festival Centre and several local festivals.
“These events increase awareness, but it’s also important to us to support local events and clubs and become an active, responsible and supportive member of the community that we operate in.
“Some of our strongest partnerships are with our neighbours in the Riverbank Precinct, we are all working together to grow visitation to the precinct to establish a vibrant world-class destination.”
