Estimates for casino proposal at Nassau Coliseum nearly double to $7.6B, new figures show

The cost to build a casino-resort at the Nassau Coliseum site rose to $7.6 billion, according to a recently released final environmental impact statement, nearly doubling the original $4 billion price tag from when Las Vegas Sands pitched the project to county officials more than two years ago.

The new estimate in the FEIS includes updated construction, labor and materials costs, roadway investments like increased traffic mitigation efforts, as well as fees associated with construction financing and application for a state gaming license needed to operate the Vegas-style resort.

Company executives said competition from online gambling and the use of capital to buy back stock and reinvest in their properties in Asia prompted the decision to pull out of its initial plan to build a U.S. flagship resort at the Coliseum.

The completion of the FEIS ends months of hearings and debate over the environmental mitigation efforts tied to Sands' plan for an "integrated resort" on the 72-acre, county-owned property in Uniondale. In accepting the study, lawmakers have pushed forward land-use approvals on the plan despite Sands executives announcing last month  the company would no longer pursue one of the competitive gaming licenses and instead would  seek a third-party to take over its application to New York State and develop on the site. 

"The legislature has now done its job in preparing the way for what we hope will be tremendous development benefiting all county residents," Presiding Officer Howard Kopel (R-Lawrence) told Newsday this week. "I think we've done a responsible job balancing all of the pros and cons."  

Compiled by VHB Engineering, Surveying, Landscape Architecture and Geology P.C., based in Hauppauge, the FEIS updates the 28,000-page draft environmental impact statement released in November with responses to public comments. Nassau County legislators voted unanimously on Monday to approve the release of the final version for public review and comment, available on the county's website. The legislature will collect written public comments until May 30. 

The new price tag stems from Sands "refining its cost estimates based on consultations with the design team, cost consultants and potential contractors," according to the final report. It continues to state the company "further developed the design drawings" and spoke with contractors to "accurately estimate labor hours and rates, obtained accurate pricing for material costs in consideration of material availability and price fluctuations" and accounted for "the possible impact due to tariffs etc." 

 The county legislature was ordered by a Nassau judge in November 2023 to lead the multi-step, state-mandated environmental review process known as SEQRA before granting Sands a lease allowing the company to build on the property.  The project now goes to the Town of Hempstead, where a hearing on rezoning the site will begin Tuesday. A Sands spokesman said the company's consultants are expected to lead the presentation to the zoning board.

The state's deadline to apply for a gaming license, which costs casino operators $500 million, is June 27.

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, a Republican, who had begun negotiating the deal with Sands CEO Robert Goldstein in 2022, touted the proposal as an economic boon that would bring thousands of temporary and permanent jobs to the region, millions in community benefits to schools and nonprofits, as well as attract tourism to the center of the county. Supporters include organized labor, small businesses and many residents.

Those who opposed the project pointed to concerns over  problem gambling and the potential for increased crime in an area where there are two colleges and a Catholic high school. Nearby Hofstra University and the Village of Garden City sued the county, Blakeman and the legislature over the project. A decision in the lawsuit filed by Hofstra voided a previous lease granted to Sands and ordered the county legislature to start over, taking on the environmental review before granting a 99-year development lease for the project. 

A civic group created to oppose the project condemned county lawmakers' vote on the FEIS this week, calling it a "blatant and irresponsible move to push the casino project forward," despite Sands announcing it would no longer pursue a gaming license and the county having no new casino developer to take up Sands' application to the state. 

"Why waste taxpayer money pushing this project forward when no one wants to build it?" the group, Say No to the Casino, said in a statement. 

But Sands Senior Vice President Michael Levoff, in a statement, defended the merits of the environmental review process. 

"Nassau County residents have made clear they want and deserve a transformational project at the site of the Coliseum. No matter what development ultimately takes place, completion of the multimillion-dollar environmental review process that Las Vegas Sands has undertaken is an essential step towards realizing that project."

At the end of April, Blakeman spokesman Chris Boyle said the new, third-party developer who would take over the Coliseum casino project would be announced in about 30 days. Boyle on Wednesday night said there was no announcement planned. 

By Candice Ferrette

candice.ferrette@newsday.comcandiceferrette

Candice Ferrette covers Nassau County government and politics on Long Island. She has been a reporter at Newsday since 2011.