MGM Springfield pours $640m into economy in first year

The construction of MGM Springfield helped create more jobs in the local area and also encouraged off-site spending.

US.- MGM Springfield brought in over $640m to the Massachusetts economy in its first year of operations, according to a study by the University of Massachusetts.

The paper showed that MGM Springfield created an average of 2,538 jobs in 2019, which paid $85.2m in salaries.

On top of that, the report showed how the construction of the casino also led to the creation of 3,740 indirect jobs. Combined with direct jobs, in total $356.9m was generated in salaries.

The report notes that MGM did not meet its promise of providing 3,000 jobs in the state, especially after around 1,000 furloughed workers were laid off as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic. The casino currently employs around 800 staff.

Besides employment, the report also mentions that MGM spent $110m with local vendors and made a total of $101.5m in payments to the state of Massachusetts. It was also reported that customers of the casino generated $66.3m in off-site spending.

President and CEO of the Economic Development Council of Western Massachusetts, Richard K. Sullivan Jr., said he was optimistic about the off-site spending the casino brought to the area.

He said: “There are real economic opportunities to see more development in the neighbourhood.”