Work has begun on a major expansion of the show lounge at Treasure Cove Casino.
Tentatively set for completion in spring 2019, it will triple the lounge's capacity to 600 seats. The project will entail $3 million worth of work, according to a building permit taken out at city hall last month, but it's a gamble Treasure Cove seems confident will pay off.
"We've been selling out most of our events now and the demand is there for a bigger facility," casino marketing manager Amanda Chandler said Tuesday.
The expansion should also help bring in bigger-name performers who have been giving Treasure Cove a pass. Chandler said the casino has not "gotten on board" with the shows that follow the casino circuit but that will change.
"I think just because we've always been that much further up north, we've kind of missed that," she said. "But certainly now, with the expansion, our event manager is in the works of speaking to some of the agents out there and bringing some of those acts in."
However, Chandler dismissed any idea of the lounge becoming a de facto performing arts centre - a facility long a topic of discussion for the city's downtown.
"Right now, what we're doing is looking out for our demand and our customers and what they're looking for," she said.
The existing show lounge will remain open for most of the duration of the work.
"If we do have to shut it down, it will be for maybe a few days or a week as we open up the entire new facility," Chandler said. "There will be a wall in place as they do the addition and then the wall will come down."
The expansion will go out towards the back parking lot but Chandler said there should be no net loss of parking. A reconfigured berm and angled parking has allowed for 80 new stalls, she said.
The final product will cover 1,115 square metres (12,000 square feet). Along with two bars, the larger venue will feature a state-of-the-art sound system, state-of-the-art lighting, "state-of-the-art everything," Chandler said. "It's exciting, very exciting."
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