State College Casino Developer Gifts Penn State $10M for Football Stadium Renovation
Posted on: September 6, 2024, 08:50h.
Last updated on: September 6, 2024, 09:51h.
The developer behind a planned casino in State College, Pa., just miles from the Pennsylvania State University campus, has gifted the school $10 million for its football stadium renovation project.
Ira Lubert won the rights to a Category 4 casino license on Sept. 2, 2020, when he was the high bidder during an auction round conducted by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB). Lubert submitted a bid of $10,000,101 that narrowly edged Baltimore-based Cordish Companies.
This week, Lubert, a 1973 Penn State graduate whose real estate firm, Lubert-Adler, has a deep portfolio in office, industrial, residential, retail, and hospitality across the nation, announced a $10 million gift to the Beaver Stadium Revitalization. The donation will result in the Lubert Family Welcome Center, a new “landmark space” at one of the stadium’s entrances. The renovation project is to be completed in 2027.
Coming to Penn State set me on a path that has led to professional success and personal fulfillment, and I am honored that the Lubert Family Welcome Center will offer a fresh, exciting first impression for future Penn Staters as they discover all that the university offers,” Lubert said.
The Penn State Board of Trustees approved a $700 million renovation of Beaver Stadium in May. While most of the investment will be financed and no tuition money will be used, private donors continue to help reduce the amount of interest the school will pay by lessening the principal. With Lubert’s contribution, the renovation has now received $55 million in donations.
Nearby Casino Saga
The renovation of Beaver Stadium has faced significant scrutiny as the $700 million project comes as the school continues to try and reduce its costs by offering some employees buyout packages. Another high-profile controversy in Centre County is Lubert’s plan to open a casino.
After winning the September 2020 auction, Lubert announced a partnership with Bally’s Corp. to invest $123 million to renovate the former Macy’s department store at the Nittany Mall into a so-called mini-casino with up to 750 slot machines and an initial allotment of 30 live dealer table games, plus a sportsbook. The mall is less than five miles from the PSU Main Campus and Beaver Stadium.
Cordish raised allegations in litigation that Lubert violated bidding protocols by orchestrating an investment group that helped him fund the $10 million bid. Lubert’s investors, who were detailed later, were not eligible to bid since they didn’t hold “an ownership interest in a slot machine license” as Lubert did with his 3% stake in Rivers Casino Pittsburgh.
Cordish argued it should have been the only qualified bid that September, but the case, which made its way to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, came down in Lubert’s favor. The state’s highest court in July upheld lower courts’ rulings in deciding that Lubert, while he might have organized an investment group to build the casino, had retained 100% control of SC Gaming OpCo, the entity he bid as, during the auction and subsequent remission of the $10 million fee.
PSU Steers Clear of Casino Controversy
After years of legal delays, Bally’s, which will operate the State College casino, told investors during its second-quarter earnings call that construction at the Nittany Mall is targeted for the first half of 2025.
Marcus Glover, the chief financial officer of Bally’s, said the company and Lubert’s team are “going through the process and obtaining the appropriate approvals.”
In July, Bally’s accepted a takeover from Soo Kim’s Standard General hedge fund. Bally’s has recently faced several credit downgrades, concerns about its financial outlook, and worries that the company could be overleveraged. ?
Many in the State College community remain opposed to the casino. Despite widespread opposition and thousands of local residents expressing disdain for a casino coming so close to where roughly 50,000 students study, the Penn State Board of Trustees refrained from taking a public position on the project. Since the College Township Council failed to opt out of being considered for a Cat. 4 casino, there is seemingly little recourse to block the Bally’s Pennsylvania casino.
Kim has remained quiet about what Bally’s future might look like once he takes full control. Under Standard General, Bally’s is expected to direct much of its focus on its $2 billion Bally’s Chicago undertaking, and possibly, a new resort in Las Vegas. That could prompt the company to fold on smaller regional operations like the one coming to State College. ?
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Last Comments ( 118 )
I have been and continue to be against a casino in Happy Valley. It is a shame that Penn State's Board of Trustees did not take a stand against a local casino, but the reason they didn't is unfortunately obvious.
Desperate casino owners will attempt to wring as much money out of the hands of immature college students as possible, which won't end well for the community and the families that are sacrificing financially to send their children off for a college education. Happy Valley could become Depressed Valley.
This is a bad idea for our State College community and for the Penn State community. Shame on Penn State for being quiet on the issue. Where are your organizational values? I guess they went out the window with the offer of 10 million for the stadium. Casinos are an extractive business. The only people that get ahead financially are the owners of the casino...at the expense of community members, students, local businesses and restaurants and surrounding property values.
This is one of the WORST ideas to come to Happy Valley. One of the LAST things needed in Centre County is a casino. It sucks money away from people who can't afford to lose money. This will just cause many, many more social issues in the county and there are enough social ills here we don't need to invite more. Casinos - like the Lottery - are designed for people to LOSE. When will the University Board of Trustees and Administration going to grow a backbone and say NO to this Casino? "May no act of our bring shame" - that includes acts of omission!
Shame on PSUTrustees for relinquishing their moral obligation to reject a casino opening in our neighborhood. Students need to see how PSU defends their mental and physical health. A gambling casino encourages/breeds highly addictive behavior. Gambling culture is adversarial to higher education that is intended to inculcate responsible citizenship in a democracy.
Many of us strongly oppose Mr Lubert’s casino! Bally’s should concentrate elsewhere. If this man cared about Penn State and our community, he would stop pushing that casino development. Most of us do not want a casino in our area. Happy Valley will be happier if that casino does not happen.
One would think that the University's Board of Trustees would have learnt from the Sandusky scandal that turning a blind eye towards important issues does no good. This could come back to haunt them as the local community is adamantly against a casino in our area. The negative impact on the lives if students and the community should not be underestimated. Shame on you, Dear Old State, shame on you.
I am totally opposed to this casino and I find it reprehensible that someone who has supported Penn State would think this is a healthy option so close to the school.
Penn State's Board of Trustees proves once again that it has no shame as long as more money goes into it's coffers. Get rid of minor league football and Beaver stadium and put the money to academic use. Let Pro football manage it's own minor leagues.
Mr. Lubert has generously contributed to the stadium renovation fund. A person’s legacy, however, is much more than having one’s name on a building. It is worth considering if your contributions- financial and otherwise- will have built up your community, will have contributed to the well being of others. A mini casino in a defunct store in our community will do neither.
Grateful for the donation, but not sure if it isn't meant to assuage a guilty conscience. Many have shirked their responsibility to keep the casino, an abomination, from our area. Shame on all of them.
Our collegiate environment should not be compromised with a gambling casino! NO to the casino! Aside from being a poor environment for students, gambling robs families of money, attracts people we do not wish to have in our community & offers no redeeming factors. Gambling is a dangerous disease that leads to personal, family & community ruin. NO to the CASINO!
The vast majority of us can’t give $10 million to a stadium renovation project but the vast majority of us are adamantly against the development of this casino for multiple reasons. State College leadership please listen to your constituents!
Our community never wanted a casino. But Penn State administration has been too weak to act in the best interests of its students and our community. So wealthy donors and developers feel free to bring vice into our lovely area. Shame!
We still do not want a Casino in Happy Valley! Casinos are a TAX on the mathematically challenged! Hopefully some of our High School and Penn State students will take a basic Statistics course.