Citing the struggling economy, the developer of the Hard Rock Casino & Hotel at Kansas Speedway withdrew its application for the project because it needs the option to phase in construction of the hotel, convention facilities and other parts of the project.

Kansas Entertainment LLC, a joint venture joint venture between Kansas Speedway Development Corp. and The Cordish Co., said in a release Friday that when the state reopens bidding, it intends to reapply to build the $400 million Hard Rock-branded casino.

The developer requested a refund of the $25 million privilege fee it paid last year, and the Kansas Lottery is processing the refund, the state said in a release.

In a letter to Ed Van Petten, executive director of the Kansas Lottery, Kansas Entertainment executive Joseph Weinberg wrote that changing economic conditions require “the flexibility potentially to phase in” the nongaming retail and hotel amenities in case the financial markets don’t recover soon.

“We recognize that the potential phasing we now require is not permitted within our existing agreement,” he wrote. “We remain fully committed to the opportunity to bring a first-class casino development to the state and Wyandotte County, along with seeking the realignment of a second NASCAR Sprint Cup race and the construction of a road course at the Kansas Speedway.”

Van Petten said in the release that the casino developer’s withdrawal “is another unfortunate result of the worldwide crisis that has plagued the financial markets and hit the gaming industry especially hard.”

“We are confident that we can and will find a manager to develop a destination casino in Wyandotte County,” Van Petten said.

Kansas Entertainment won the contract from the Kansas Lottery Gaming Facility Review Board on Sept. 19.

The overall project is estimated to cost $705.6 million and would overlook turn two of the speedway.

The first phase, which was scheduled to open sometime in 2009, would have about 3,000 slot machines and 100 gaming tables, and would operate during construction of the overall casino-hotel-entertainment complex. When completed, the Hard Rock casino is to include a 300-room luxury hotel, including 50 suites; 3,000 slot machines and 140 gaming tables; 275,000 square feet of retail, dining and entertainment space, including a live music venue and a destination spa and fitness center with an indoor/outdoor pool; and 100,000 square feet of meeting and convention facilities.

The Kansas Lottery Commission will discuss reopening bids in the South Central and Northeast zones when it meets Dec. 11.

Original Story- Wichita Business Journal