City Council Approves Hollywood Casino Relocation, Expansion

AURORA, IL — Aurora City Council unanimously voted Tuesday night to approve the relocation and expansion of Hollywood Casino.

The new Hollywood Casino campus will move from its current home on the Fox River to Farnsworth Avenue, across from the Chicago Premium Outlets on the city's east side. The resort will boast a 200-room hotel and a 10,000-square-foot event space.

The $360 million deal includes a $50 million bond issuance from the city, which officials said would be repaid not from general funds from taxpayers but from increased property taxes generated from the new site, Patch reported.

Now that the deal has been approved, the city will also be transferring ownership of the site in the I-88 corridor to Penn Entertainment, the company that operates Hollywood Casino, in exchange for the casino's current downtown property and parking garage. The proposal also includes an option for the company to purchase the land currently occupied by the C-Club and Gaslite Manor Banquets, both facing Church Road.

The $50 million bond issuance and the transfer of city-owned property prompted Aurora residents to voice concerns at multiple meetings, resulting in several people being escorted out of City Hall Tuesday, according to reports.

A man and a woman also began shouting comments during a presentation about the casino, resulting in Mayor Richard Irvin ordering them removed, according to reports from the Daily Herald.

"No more money to billionaires," one man chanted and danced as he was escorted out, the Herald reported.

RELATED: Aurora Hollywood Casino Could Move Near Chicago Outlets If Vote Passes

The final vote comes after Irvin and all City Council members had no objections to the proposal at a Committee of the Whole meeting Oct. 18.

Construction on the new casino will begin in 2023.