Hard Rock International has sold its 50% stake in the proposed Meadowlands casino project to racetrack owner Jeff Gural, ending its role in one of New Jersey’s longest-running north Jersey casino plans. Gural said his company, New Meadowlands Racing, bought out Hard Rock’s interest roughly two weeks before the sale became public.
The sale removes Hard Rock from a project that has been part of New Jersey’s casino expansion debate for years. Casino gambling outside Atlantic City would still require voter approval, and New Jersey voters rejected a statewide referendum to expand casino gambling beyond Atlantic City in 2016.
Sale ends a partnership first tied to the project in 2015
Hard Rock and Gural first partnered on the Meadowlands casino proposal in 2015. The plan later lost momentum after the 2016 referendum failed, even though Meadowlands supporters kept arguing that a casino in north Jersey would become more attractive if New York starts pulling more gamblers from the same region.
Gural did not disclose the sale price. He still believes a Meadowlands casino could eventually win support if some of the revenue is used to help Atlantic City. Atlantic City has long opposed any effort to expand casino gaming elsewhere in the state.
The Meadowlands plan is still alive, but the ownership picture has changed. Hard Rock is no longer part of the project. Any new push now depends on whether Gural can build enough political support for a referendum focused only on the racetrack site.
Meadowlands location remains central to the casino idea
The casino plan has always been built around the Meadowlands racetrack in East Rutherford. The site sits next to MetLife Stadium and close to New York City, which is why Jeff Gural believes it could attract customers who might otherwise go across the state line.
2016 referendum failed because it left room for more than one possible casino site in north Jersey. Afuture vote focused only on the Meadowlands would be easier for voters to understand and more likely to win support.
