Work continues on a 220-room hotel, right, and a 1,000-space parking garage under construction at the new Hollywood Casino Aurora.
Courtesy of the city of Aurora

Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin scrawled A-plusses on a giant report card Tuesday for the progress being made building the new Hollywood Casino Aurora.

“This progress is amazing,” Irvin told laborers and their bosses, saying the project is on time and on budget and that the workers are doing high-quality work.

“This is magnificent. It really is,” said Craig Melby, co-founder of Viking Bros., one of the construction companies working on the project, told the crowd, which also included city and casino officials.

“Keep those hands (applause) going for cranes in the air!” Irvin exclaimed, pointing to the three cranes behind him that were lifting materials into place for a garage and the adjacent seven-story hotel and casino.

Penn National and city officials had a ceremonial groundbreaking last November.

“I think you can see how much work the men and women of Aurora have been able to get done in just a few short months,” Greg Moore, vice president and general manager of the Aurora casino, said Tuesday. He said they expect to open the complex in the first half of 2026.

The $360 million complex is being built on the west side of Farnsworth Avenue, south of Bilter Road.

In addition to the casino and hotel, the complex will have a 12,000-square-foot event space and a sports betting facility.

The city is lending up to $50 million to Penn Entertainment for the project and has given it $8 million worth of city-owned land.

In February, the city council agreed to sell $58 million in general-obligation bonds to fund that loan and for demolishing the current casino downtown.

The redevelopment agreement calls for the bonds to be paid from increased property taxes generated by the new casino via a tax-increment financing district. If there is not enough money available in the TIF fund in any given year, the developer has to pay the difference, according to the agreement.

A rendering shows the new $360 million Hollywood Casino Aurora that is under construction in Aurora.
Courtesy of the city of Aurora

Hollywood Casino Aurora opened in 1993 in downtown Aurora when state law was enacted allowing gambling on riverboats. Revenue has declined as other gambling sites opened throughout the suburbs, including the Rivers Casino in Des Plaines and video gambling businesses.

Irvin said the hotel building is the tallest constructed in the city since 1974.