£150m Resorts World Birmingham complex opens its doors

THE new £150m Resorts World Word Birmingham complex at the NEC opened its doors for the first time today.

The new facility, developed by Far East entertainment and leisure group Genting, comprises a hotel, casino, conference centre, bars, restaurants, 11-screen cinema and a 50-store fashion outlet mall.

The full opening will take place in a series of phases over the next couple of the week’s but today’s first phase sees the opening of the outlet mall, a first for the West Midlands.

This will be followed by the cinema on Friday and the casino on Monday before the hotel starts taking its first guests next month.

The entire scheme is set to create around 1,100 new jobs and provide a major boost to the region’s economy.

The retail offering in particular is helping to revitalise the area’s shopping facilities and comes less than a month after the opening of the new Grand Central scheme in Birmingham, with the newly-revamped Mailbox set to follow within days.

The leisure investment is also a major shot-in-the-arm to facilities at the NEC and considerably extends the site’s appeal.

Under-resourced for 40 years, the new complex now presents the site with the opportunity to become a destination in its own right – apart from capturing exhibition delegates with nothing really to do once the doors close at the NEC itself.

Peter Brooks, Genting UK President and Chief Operating Officer said: “We are very excited following a two-year build programme that Resorts World Birmingham is coming to life.

“There will be much more to experience at Resorts World Birmingham as the weeks go by and the resort becomes fully operational. We have a full programme of exciting events between our opening day and the end of the year which will demonstrate the wide range of experiences available to our guests.”