Bally’s Secures $400 Million In Funding For $4 Billion Bronx Casino Project
Financing by WhiteHawk Capital Partners provides a vital liquidity boost amid broader corporate financial concerns
Bally’s has closed on a previously announced funding round of roughly $400 million to kickstart the company’s Bronx project, which is now expected to open in 2030, the company announced Friday.
The funding, led by WhiteHawk Capital Partners, will allow Bally’s — which has been going through a lot of late — to pay out pre-construction costs and fees associated with the project, which will be built on and around the site of a golf course previously owned by President Donald Trump. An additional $160 million is available for future draws to continue the buildout of the casino.
The entire project is estimated to cost $4 billion for the casino, golf course, a hotel, and an event center. The development will occupy 16 acres of parking lots and practice greens at Bally’s Golf Links at Ferry Point. The company says the project will be the largest private development in the borough’s history.
Rough seas
The financing comes as Bally’s, which also owns Bally’s Atlantic City, faces questions about how it will pay for its broad expansion plans, which also include major projects in Chicago and Las Vegas.
In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this year, Bally’s warned there was “substantial doubt” about its ability to “continue as a going concern.” The company said it risked failing to meet lenders’ requirements governing its debt and available cash. Creditors had conditionally waived one requirement, but Bally’s warned it could struggle to comply if that requirement returned.
The company said it is “pursuing a number of financing alternatives to enhance its liquidity, including asset monetization, an equity sale, and debt financings.”
Its other development projects have also run into trouble. In Chicago, Bally’s has slowed construction amid a dispute over the city’s approval of video gambling terminals at some bars and restaurants. The company has concentrated work on the casino while putting other parts of the resort on hold.
In Las Vegas, its latest plans for the former Tropicana site call for dining, retail, and entertainment facilities, leaving out the hotel and casino envisioned in earlier projections.
Jeff Edelstein is a longtime columnist, reporter, radio host, and fantasy sports aficionado, not necessarily in that order. He lives in New Jersey with his family.
