Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino marks major milestone on $700M expansion
By Veronica Brezina-Smith
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Dec 12, 2018

The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa has hit a major milestone in its mega expansion.

The casino lifted the beam to top out its 15-story hotel tower on Dec. 11.

The new hotel is at the forefront of the property at Interstate 4 and Orient Road that's undertaking a nearly $700 million expansion that includes almost 200 gaming tables and new entertainment space.

The project is expected to be completed in mid-2019 and will allow the expanded casino to offer one of the largest varieties of slot machines in the country.

The hotel tower will bring an additional 564 hotel rooms and suites. In total, the expanded Seminole Hard Rock Hotel will offer approximately 800 guest rooms, including 79 new hotel suites for a total of 88 suites. The top floor of the new hotel tower will have a private gaming parlor for VIP guests, with an exclusive check-in and private elevators to rock star suites, Tampa Bay Business Journal previously reported.

The hotel will feature a new 25,000-square-foot Rock Spa & Salon, a 120-seat Pool Grille restaurant and bar, and expanded pool and deck area.

In addition, the casino will add a new 200-seat Italian restaurant and renovations and updates are planned for the existing Hard Rock Cafe, Fresh Harvest Buffet, Plum VIP Lounge and food court.

The project is expected to create 1,000 part-time and full-time jobs, in addition to over 2,000 construction jobs. Another 1,022 indirect permanent jobs are expected to be generated by the casino expansion, plus another 2,268 indirect construction jobs, for a total of more than 6,000 additional jobs, TBBJ previously reported.

Architects for the expansion are Klai Juba Wald Architects of Las Vegas. Interior designs are by Wimberly Interiors, Coral Gables, Laurence Lee Associates, Los Angeles, and Klai Juba Wald Interiors, Las Vegas. Construction is led by Suffolk Yates.

The expansion is a result of a $2.4 billion economic investment by the Seminole Tribe of Florida in its two flagship destination casino complexes in Tampa and Hollywood, Florida.