The first two new casino properties in Pennsylvania to open amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic are owned by Baltimore-based Cordish Companies. The first was a satellite casino, Live! Pittsburgh, in the Westmoreland Mall in Western Pennsylvania. The second, which opened February 11, is the Cordish flagship in the state, Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia.
Many of the basic design and amenity offerings of the new hotel-casino follow the lead of Cordish’s Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland, opened seven years earlier. That includes elements like the R Bar, a sports-oriented electronic table game area, and the Sports & Social brand of sports bar.
However, Live! Philadelphia is a totally unique project, thanks in large part to its dedication to the local market—and more specifically, to Philly sports. The casino is located in the heart of Philadelphia’s Stadium District, where the arenas and stadiums of all the city’s professional sports teams are located within a few blocks of each other.
The bar at Prime Rib
The new casino-hotel reflects this, with references to the city’s sports teams throughout, including the Sports & Social brand wrapped around the Cordish FanDuel Sportsbook concept—sports wagering in a best-in-class sports bar, featuring a 500-foot-long LED screen and different styles of entertainment. There’s even a large foosball table.
But Philadelphia-based BLT Architects went beyond the sports connection to reflect the city in every aspect, from the casino entrance that replicates Robert Indiana’s famous “LOVE” sculpture at the Love Park plaza in downtown Philadelphia to killer views of the city from state-of-the-art hotel rooms.
The 510,000-square-foot Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia includes a 100,000-square-foot-plus casino featuring 2,200 slot positions, including 74 electronic table games. There are 121 table games with plans to expand to 150, a dedicated 29-table poker room, a six-room Event Center that includes 15,000 square feet of customizable meeting/entertainment event space, and a variety of food and beverage options that include a number of local favorites.
BLT Architects created a high-energy casino floor, featuring an undulating metal panel ribbon that wraps the casino and garage facades and a metal and glass hotel tower. “The building design is intended to reflect the high energy of the amenities within, provide a strong presence when viewed from the adjacent highways, and present dynamic architectural forms that complement the adjacent large-scale stadiums and arena,” according to the firm’s project description.
Many of the finer details of the restaurants, sports bar and other amenities also benefit from intricate woodwork by Quebec, Canada-based Beaubois. Beaubois woodwork can be seen throughout the signature steakhouse, the Luk Fu Asian restaurant, the distinctive sports bar, and more.
“This includes an extensive range of craftsmanship and materials, from marble countertops in the restaurants and gold-plated Chinese characters integrated into custom furniture,” Beaubois stated in its project description, “to a remarkable oval-shaped rustic larch bar and leather booths in both restaurants and the back-of-house… In the bars and back-bars, copper, glass and brass accents create a dramatic look and feature a range of custom finishes and colors.”
Most dining areas showcase high ceilings with rustic larch beams, which Beaubois developed in collaboration with engineers to guarantee their structural stability. Other ceilings brought together by Beaubois feature decorative black steel beams and an acrylic cloudscape.
The project incorporated an extensive array of materials, finishes, colors, and techniques.
OWNER:The Cordish Companies
ARCHITECT: BLT Architects
WOODWORK: Beaubois
GENERAL CONTRACTOR: Gilbane Building Company
PROJECT COST: $700 million
INTERIOR DESIGN: Klai Juba Architects, Jeffrey Beers International and Hirsch Bedner Associates
