What Cape's new casino could mean for the local economy

Cape Girardeau celebrated the construction of a $125 million Isle of Capri casino complex with a groundbreaking March 31. By the end of August, trucks had delivered more than 2,100 cubic yards of concrete to pour foundation for the basin that will hold the land-based casino's floating gaming floor. Community leaders and nearby merchants hope the casino, scheduled for completion in late 2012, will revitalize the downtown area and provide a welcome boost to the area's economy.

"So much progress has been made, and yet we are really only at the beginning," Mayor Harry Rediger told the Southeast Missourian after the groundbreaking. "The beginning of site work and road construction. The beginning of a new relationship with Isle. A new beginning for a part of downtown which once flourished."

Rediger said the casino is integrated into a strategic concept in which it will anchor one end of downtown while the Old Town Cape district anchors the other. Casino visitors will give existing businesses access to new customers, he added.

"The synergy between the two anchors creates opportunity for future development," Rediger said.

Isle's gaming and entertainment complex is expected to have 1,000 slot machines, 28 table games, three restaurants, a lounge and terrace overlooking the Mississippi River and a 750-seat event center. It will create approximately 450 jobs, according to Virginia McDowell, president and chief executive officer at Isle of Capri.

Roy Anderson Corp. of Gulfport, Miss., and S.M. Wilson & Co. of St. Louis have teamed up to coordinate construction of the new casino. Preparation for the casino has already put many Southeast Missourians to work, beginning with the relocation of North Main Street around the casino site in the spring. Cape Girardeau County contractors hired for the road realignment project were Fronabarger Concreters Inc., Apex Paving, Cotner Electric, Nip Kelly Trucking & Equipment, Monroe Plumbing and Roadrunner Safety.

Concrete for the casino basin was delivered and poured by local workers, including 68 employees of Delta Companies' plants in Cape Girardeau and Jackson, said Jason Barber, account representative with Delta.

"We don't have a lot of opportunities to see pours of this size, so for us to be able to produce a ready mix concrete of this nature and this size is a huge opportunity for us to have this many employees working in this kind of economy," Barber said.

Other companies participating in this step of the casino construction were Anderson/S.M. Wilson Joint Venture, Vee-Jay Cement, Nip Kelly Equipment, River City Mechanical, Geotechnology and GLA-Structural Engineer.

Suzanne Dinkens, owner of Glitz on Spanish Street, told Business Today magazine that she's already met new customers who specifically came downtown to see what work has been done at the casino site.

"I think if anything, it will help the downtown because it gets people thinking 'downtown,'" she says of the project. "If the casino weren't coming downtown, they probably wouldn't have had a reason to explore the area."

Jayne Ervin, president of Jayson Jewelers on Themis Street, hopes the new attraction it will bring more shoppers to her store.

"I think good things are happening down here," she said. "I think it will open up opportunities for construction jobs and additional revenue, and hopefully because of all those things, we will see increased business from it."

Kim Robinson, president of Cup 'N' Cork on Main Street, believes the casino will benefit everyone downtown.

"I like to think that there will be enough business for everyone to have a piece of the pie," she said. "I think it will be an asset to downtown. The physical plant itself, from the drawings and sketches I've seen, will add color and excitement and opportunities for people to come downtown."

As for the business owners in downtown Cape Girardeau, Robinson thinks the casino and the added foot traffic it brings will encourage merchants to make their businesses even better, and maybe even add a little healthy competition.