Mohegan Sun to add Expo Center

Mohegan Sun once again is expanding, this time adding a facility to host conventions and trade shows that will go along with the Montville-based resort’s arena and casino.

Executives of the Mohegan Tribe will announce their plans for the 240,000-square-foot facility Thursday afternoon. The Mohegan Sun Expo Center is slated to open next summer, according to representatives of the tribe and the casino.

The total value of the project is expected to be $80 million.

Construction of the new facility is being overseen by a Connecticut-based A/Z Corp. The North Stonington-based company has done work for the Mohegan Tribe before, having recently completed Mohegan Sun’s 400-room Earth Tower Hotel. The $130,000 hotel, which opened last November, is located adjacent to where the exposition center is being built.

The new facility will be as big as two football fields and will include a 108,000-square-foot convention center with a new ballroom and meeting space. It also includes a 132,000-square-foot exhibition center.

In terms of overall space, Mohegan Sun Expo Center is less than half the size of the 540,000-square-foot Connecticut Convention Center, which is the largest convention facility between New York and Boston. But the new Mohegan Sun facility compares favorably with the Connecticut Convention Center in terms of exhibition space. The Connecticut Convention Center has 140,000 square feet of exhibition space.