By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — Hard Rock Casino Rockford on Thursday released new renderings of its future casino, giving a glimpse at plans for both interior and exterior space of the 180,000-square-foot site.
The renderings show a grandiose front entrance highlighted by a roughly 90-foot tall replica of one of Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Rick Nielsen’s signature checkerboard guitars. Inside, the images show the future casino floor, the food and beverage center and the upscale Council Oak restaurant.
The images also show some of the roughly 1,800 guest parking spaces outside the facility.
Hard Rock released the new renderings to members of the media before noon on Thursday, just moments after it earned approval from the Illinois Gaming Board to extend operations at its Opening Act casino, 610 N. Bell School Road, by a year to Nov. 9, 2024.
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Hard Rock also revealed its target opening date for the first time, saying it hopes to open by late August 2024 with a grand opening celebration near Labor Day 2024.
“Hard Rock Casino Rockford thanks the Illinois Gaming Board for its continued commitment to work with us in building the casino facility Rockford has dreamed about for more than 20 years,” Hard Rock Rockford President Geno Iafrate said in a news release. “Anyone driving by the permanent casino location off I-90 can see the progress and excitement build toward the planned opening set for late summer of 2024. Hard Rock will deliver on its promise of a premium destination casino that will be well worth the wait.”
The new casino will include 1,300 electronic gaming devices, 44 live table games, six live poker tables, a sportsbook, Hard Rock Café, Council Oak Restaurant, Plum VIP Lounge, Food Hall and a 1,600 seat multi-use entertainment venue called Hard Rock Live.
Related: Here’s what’s being built across from the future Hard Rock Casino in Rockford
Hard Rock broke ground last September on its future casino site. The casino’s arrival here was allowed by a gambling expansion signed into law by Gov. JB Pritzker in July 2019 that allowed for six new casinos in the state.
Rockford’s interim casino at 610 N. Bell School Road was the first of those six to open, and it has the furthest progress on its permanent facility.
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This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas