New Bedford, Mass., casino project that Foxwoods was to manage is abandoned

Despite local support from voters, developer couldn’t find financing

TheMashantucket Pequot Tribe’s bid to derive revenue from Massachusetts’ entry into the gaming market appeared to endWednesday when a proposed New Bedford project the tribe’s Foxwoods Resort Casino would have managed fell apart.

KG Urban Enterprises, the New York- based developer behind the $ 650 million plan, informed the Massachusetts Gaming Commission that it was unable to secure financing. KG Urban had identified Foxwoods as the New Bedford casino’s would-be operator.

A spokesman for the tribe referred inquiries to KG Urban.

“Despite significant efforts and expenditures on our part, weand our lenders/partners have been unable to create a viable financing package for the project,” Barry Gosin, a KG Urban vice president, wrote to the commission. “In particular, both primary and mezzanine financing in the requisite amounts have proved to be significantly harder to obtain than we had anticipated.”

Gosin attributed lenders’ reluctance to provide financing to several factors, “including the possibility of competition from a nearby Indian casino which would pay no taxes or other compensation to the Commonwealth.”

The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe is seeking federal approval for a $ 500 million casino it hopes to build in Taunton, Mass., about 25 miles from New Bedford.

Scott Butera, a former Foxwoods chief executive officer, was partnering with KG Urban, having previously been involved in another southeastern Massachusetts project that fell by the wayside.

At one point, Butera, who left Foxwoods last year to become commissioner of the Arena Football League, indicated he was working with the same real estate investment trust that was to provide financing for a Foxwoods casino project proposed for Milford, Mass., in 2013.

Local voters rejected the Milford proposal in a referendum.

Despite uncertainty about the KG Urban project’s financing, New Bedford residents overwhelmingly supported the plan in a citywide vote last month.

With KG Urban out of the picture, only one competitor remains in the running for the southeastern Massachusetts casino license. Mass Gaming & Entertainment has proposed a $650 million project in Brockton.