NEW $300 million Adelaide Casino expansion plans, centred on a luxury hotel, give the first detailed insight into the wider Festival Centre plaza overhaul.

Released this morning by the Casino’s parent company, SkyCity, the plans include the 80-room hotel overlooking the River Torrens, gaming suites for international VIP players and signature restaurants with renowned chefs.

Nine images and a flyover video show the hotel but also reveal concept designs for the nearby Festival Centre plaza and multi-storey office tower on Station Rd, to the northwest of Parliament House, planned by property tycoon Lang Walker.

The flyover also shows the Torrens footbridge leading into a tunnel entrance to the Adelaide Railway Station and also to the expanded Casino and wider Festival Plaza.

A $610 million plaza upgrade includes the 24-storey office tower, restaurants, cafes, bars, shops and a 1560-space underground carpark.

The Casino has secured a deal to buy the prized Riverbank land for the long-awaited expansion, which previously has been valued at $350 million and included 500 more poker machines and 110 extra gaming tables.

The SkyCity announcement, at its Auckland annual general meeting on Friday morning, will allay speculation that the project was to be shelved.

SkyCity group chief executive Nigel Morrison said the company’s Adelaide expansion designs were well advanced and plans had been lodged with the state Development Assessment Commission.

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Construction starting times have not yet been determined, he said, and depended on finalising the site lease and co-ordinating with the Government’s plans for the broader Riverbank precinct.

“Developing a complex that boasts luxurious VIP facilities, along with outstanding accommodation and signature dining experiences, attracts both international and domestic visitors,” Mr Morrison said.

“Our Adelaide Casino development will help South Australia attract a greater share of high-value international visitors, particularly from China and South-East Asia.

“This development will help transform Station Rd into a true entertainment precinct, and SkyCity’s investment will create much-needed jobs and economic growth for South Australia and complement the redeveloped Adelaide Oval and the new and expanded Adelaide Convention Centre.”

Mr Morrison said strong growth in the Casino’s international business, coupled with the success of signature restaurants Sean’s Kitchen and Madame Hanoi, had in the past four months boosted normalised revenue by 24.4 per cent, over the previous period, to $70.3m.

He said local gaming in Adelaide continued to generate soft revenue but the strong international results demonstrated the growing attraction of SA for international visitors.

Mr Morrison said an ongoing lack of car parking would soon be resolved by an agreement to lease 750 car spaces in the underground car park being built by Mr Walker’s company.

The in-principle deal to lease a parcel of state-owned land between the Casino and Festival Centre bolsters the nearby $610 million Festival Plaza development, which includes a 24-storey office building,

The land involved in the casino expansion is at its northern end, next to the Adelaide Railway Station’s northern entrance — used by thousands of people to walk to the River Torrens footbridge during Adelaide Oval events.

It is understood the deal, which involves setting an undisclosed agreed price for the land, includes guaranteed access rights via Station Rd and Festival Drive for the Intercontinental Hotel, which is next to the railway station and Casino. Sources close to the agreement said a legal contract was not yet signed.

Urban Development Minister John Rau in August released contingency plans in case the casino expansion was ditched, which included a privately developed multistorey building on the prime riverbank site.

But Mr Rau, who is also the Deputy Premier, told The Advertiser he was hopeful of reaching a final deal soon and starting the 20-month construction of the carpark early next year.

“I’m satisfied that progress is being made with all of the parties entering into that in a constructive spirit,” he said.

The Festival Plaza redevelopment involves SkyCity, the Intercontinental, property tycoon Lang Walker and the State Government-owned Festival Centre. The Casino has agreed to lease 750 spaces in the new carpark.

The casino expansion was first proposed in 2012 and, in a related deal, the Government gave SkyCity a monopoly licence to run Adelaide’s only casino until 2035.

Independent Gambling Authority chairman Alan Moss this month said the new licensing arrangements anticipated the expansion would have started by now, also noting these would lapse by 2019.

Adelaide Casino acting general manager Aaron Morrison last month announced his resignation, prompting Opposition calls for the Government to “come clean” on the expansion’s progress.

Mr Morrison said SkyCity was searching for a replacement and, in the interim, the company’s executive team, led by him, was running the Adelaide property.

Mr Morrison said that “with the significant turnaround in recent performance of the business and the progress now being made on the Expansion I am very comfortable with the position that I will be leaving the business in at the end of this year”.

The Festival Plaza redevelopment, which was approved by the Government in March, involves creating a seamless, single-level space from King William St to the casino that wraps around the Festival Centre.

This includes removing Otto Hajek’s concrete garden sculpture, immediately to Parliament House’s north, and constructing a rooftop garden including bars and restaurants. The main plaza square would include a grassed area, equipped with technology to allow events and “pop-ups” to plug in.