Hard Rock Int’l resolves Spanish casino project’s land issues

Casino operator Hard Rock International (HRI) has finally received some good news regarding its long-delayed Spanish integrated resort project.

On Wednesday, Spanish media reported that the government in Spain’s Catalan region had brokered a €120m deal to acquire the land near the coastal city of Tarragona on which HRI hopes to build its €2b Hard Rock Entertainment World resort.

The deal will see a government-owned company known as Incasòl pay €120m for the property currently owned by Mediterranea Beach & Golf Community, which is itself owned by Criteria Caixa, a development arm of La Caixa bank. Incasòl will then sell the property to HRI for the same price, which hopefully will allow the long-stalled project to finally go forward.

HRI originally partnered with Melco International Development to bid on a Catalan casino license but Melco bowed out in favor of pursuing a separate project in Cyprus. HRI pushed on alone and was ultimately awarded the license in May 2018 but its problems were only just beginning.