A Yokohama integrated resort (IR) looks like it’s going to carry a pretty steep price tag. A survey of potential operators reveals that it could cost as much as $12 billion to build, and six of those firms are willing to pay the price.
GGRAsia reports this information came from a request for information (RFI) by Yokohama city. Although the information was compiled in September 2018, it was kept concealed until May 27, with some of the information still kept private.
Of the responses that they got, operators suggested they would be willing to build a resort for as little as 620 billion yen ($5.66 billion), or as much as 1.3 trillion yen ($11.9 billion). Thus the city thinks they can get a cool $12 billion in investment, rounding up of course.
They also determined they could get between $3.2 billion to 8 billion in annual revenue from a resort. Annual earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) is expected to come in at around $730 million to $1.9 billion.
Nine of the respondents were willing to make their firms known to the public. They included Caesars, Capital and Innovation, Galaxy Entertainment, Genting Singapore, Melco Resorts, MGM, Sega Sammy, Sotoku, and Wynn Resorts. At least some of those are still planning to make a bid to build the Yokohama (IR). Las Vegas Sands, who recently made it clear that they want to make a bid for a big city, is also likely in the running, and likely to be an anonymous respondent to the RFI.
A name that’s notably missing from that list, and nearly guaranteed to stay out of the running, is Bloomberry Resorts. The operator of the Philippines’ Solaire resort announced on May 21 that they were no longer interested in an Osaka resort because they felt an $8.5 billion budget was a little too pricey, and they preferred to spend no more than $3 billion.
Now that Yokohama knows it’s a big prize to be had, there’s no chance $3 billion will impress them enough to court with a bid. If the city becomes the winner of one of the three elusive IR licenses, expect it to be with a big player with a big wallet.
