For Alexandria, the soon-to-open MGM National Harbor will be a blessing and a curse.
On one hand, the resort will be a “new well-marketed, high quality regional attraction that will create jobs, drive new visitation and offer collaborative marketing opportunities,” according to a new report from Alexandria’s MGM Readiness Task Force.
On the other, “MGM will compete with Alexandria restaurants and retailers, increase traffic and potentially exacerbate the social ills associated with addictive gambling.”
The task force, led by Visit Alexandria, was challenged to develop a working relationship with MGM, identify opportunities for collaboration and identify risks that can be mitigated. After roughly five months of work, the task force has come up with 14 “low risk/high reward” recommendations, expected to cost $377,000, that can be put into place immediately. Eight more are recommended, totaling about $1.5 million, if the money is available.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Michael Neibauer over at the Washington Business Journal