Officials to break ground on Hard Rock Rockford Casino next week
ROCKFORD — Hard Rock Casino Rockford on Wednesday unveiled plans for an invitation-only formal ceremony to break ground on its permanent casino resort at 7801 E. State St. near the Interstate 90 exit.
An official ground breaking ceremony will be held next Wednesday, Sept. 28.
Organizers were forced to do an invitation-only ground breaking because of the nature of the 25-acre site - an open field where site grading is expected to begin soon, according to a news release. The announcement comes about 10 months after Hard Rock opened the temporary Rockford Casino, A Hard Rock Opening Act.
“Our opening act in Rockford has been fantastic, but I know the entire Rockford community is just as excited as we are for the main show,” said Jon Lucas, chief operating officer of Hard Rock International, in a news release. “From the very start, Rockford’s energy has surpassed expectations and it’s no secret they are really ready to rock."
There has been no announcement on what to expect for the construction timeline as the designs and plans are still being finalized for the resort.
More:Answers to the most commonly asked Hard Rock Casino Rockford questions
Hard Rock executives will be joined by local elected officials, business and community leaders. Cheap Trick guitarist and Rockford-native Rick Nielsen will also be on hand.
Hard Rock is finalizing its plans for construction of a regional destination that is expected to include a 65,000-square-foot Hard Rock Casino, a Hard Rock Café and a roughly 1,600-seat Hard Rock Live venue. A 250-room hotel remains in the plans but may have to wait for a second phase of construction.
A Rockford Register Star reporter since 2005, Jeff Kolkey writes about city government, politics, trends in the Rockford region and more. He is a Rockford resident, a married father of two and a White Sox fan. He can be reached at (815) 987-1374, via email at jkolkey@rrstar.com and on Twitter @jeffkolkey.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Hard Rock Casino Rockford to officially break ground next week
