Catalan Hard Rock casino to transend “caricature and cliché” parliament’s president says
Josep Rull is pushing for advances on the Hard Rock Entertainment World project in Tarragona.
Spain.- Josep Rull, president of the Catalan Parliament, is pushing for progress on plans for a Hard Rock casino and entertainment complex on Spain’s Costa Daurada. Highlighting the project’s potential as an economic driver in the gaming and integrated leisure sector, he’s urging the autonomous region’s government to “seek the necessary majorities” to progress with the project.
Speaking during an institutional visit to the city councils of Salou and Vila-secat, Rull defended the Hard Rock Entertainment project, stressing that it was more than just a casino and emphasising the focus on convention tourism. During meetings with mayors Pere Granados (Salou) and Pere Segura (Vila-seca) and a visit to the PortAventura World amusement park, he highlighted the tourism hub’s capacity for innovation and called for renewed momentum.
“We have to be very serious and rigorous with this project and move beyond caricature and cliché,” he said comparing the development to PortAventura World, which the development would neighbour at the Vila-seca and Salou Recreation and Tourism Centre.
He noted that PortAventura World had also caused initial disagreements between political parties, but ended up generating “a practically unanimous consensus in the country.” Rull suggested that Hard Rock could replicate this success, acting as an economic engine and strengthening family tourism.
Promoted by La Caixa and Enrique Bañuelos’s Veremonte, the 745,000m2 project began life as Barcelona World or BCN World back in 2012 and was scheduled to begin construction in mid-2017 before urban planning modifications and investor problems. Hard Rock won a public tender in 2017 to operate a casino alongside hotels, shopping areas and leisure spaces. It announced plans for a €2bn investment, and the project was renamed as Hard Rock Entertainment World.
Rull moderated debates on the issue in Parliament and led its urban planning process as regions minister. However, the Urban Master Plan (PDU) still awaits approval by the Catalan Government.
Earlier this year, Parliament eliminated tax advantages for large casinos, raising the tax burden to 55 per cent, a change that could impact the complex’s viability. However, Rull insisted on the development’s strategic importance, arguing that it would benefit multiple economic sectors and help break the seasonality of tourism.
