The Stage

Blackpool light ent dealt ‘the worst of all possible outcomes’

Published Wednesday 31 January 2007 at 16:30 by Alistair Smith

Blackpool’s beleaguered light entertainment scene has been dealt “the worst of all possible outcomes” after Manchester was chosen as the preferred location for the UK’s first super-casino.

The resort had been widely regarded as favourite, alongside Greenwich’s former Millennium Dome, to secure the recommendation of the Casino Advisory Panel, which has given its final judgement to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. However, Manchester, considered an outsider by most observers and only ranked sixth in the CAP’s preliminary findings, was chosen ahead of both.

While some had feared Blackpool’s bid might lose out to the Dome, this decision proves even worse for the resort, as Manchester is one of its fiercest regional rivals and is likely to rule out future chances of locating a super-casino in the town.

Blackpool had been resting all its hopes of revival on the casino and has now been left “cut off at the knees” according to Marc Etches, the former Leisure Parcs director, who launched the town’s bid.

He said: “This is the worst of all possible outcomes for Blackpool. Had it gone to any other place than Manchester, at least Blackpool had a chance for a super-casino in a second round of bidding. Giving it to Manchester cuts Blackpool off at the knees.

“The government has handled this poorly from the beginning and made error after error. I fear that the process will now become mired in legal challenges. I don’t think that Blackpool has any other choice. This decision will hasten the decline of the town’s light entertainment scene. It will completely tear the heart out of any confidence that was there.”

According to the CAP report, Blackpool’s proposal failed because it had staked too much on winning the casino and there was not enough evidence that the venue would be able to turn round the resort in the way that is needed.

“While it is clear that Blackpool is in need of regeneration, in our view the regeneration benefits of the proposal before us are unproven and more limited geographically than other proposals,” explained the panel. “If we thought it would fulfil all that is claimed for it, that is to turn round the fortunes of Blackpool, it could be a winner. But we do not think that a regional casino on its own would effect the transformation sought locally, nor optimise the wider regeneration through regional and national economic growth.”

However, while the choice of site may have come as a shock to many, one insider close to the decision-making process told The Stage that it was not such a surprise. According to him, the Dome had effectively ruled itself out because of “the political row in terms of ‘done deals’”, while Blackpool had suffered because it had “no plan B” and failed to provide “a meaningful impact study location”. Instead, he claimed that Manchester “would provide a good test bed” and while regeneration would be strongly boosted by the regional casino, the city is not dependent upon it.

Casino operator Harrah’s Entertainment, which had been previously been linked to the Blackpool bid, has declared its interest in tendering for the Manchester site, while Kerzner International, which was involved with the Dome application, is also considered a front runner.

Harrah’s managing director of European development Andrew Tottenham said: “We feel strongly that Harrah’s Entertainment offers the most complete package for the UK as we have a proven, worldwide track record of responsibly operating successful casino-integrated resort complexes.”