Hard Rock Casino’s hotel plans remain undefined, but a baseball player’s 100th birthday gives a hint

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
Get our mobile app

ROCKFORD — As Hard Rock Casino Rockford nears its first year since opening, it’s still working to determine when to break ground on the next phase of its development.

An on-site hotel remains a part of Hard Rock’s plans for its casino and entertainment venue at 7801 E. State St., which opened Aug. 29 after running at a temporary location for more than two and half years.

The closest Hard Rock has given to offering an opening date ties in to the birthday of a celebrated women’s baseball player who’s helped keep the legacy of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League alive.

Maybelle Blair — who played for one of the Rockford Peaches’ rivals, the Peoria Redwings — tried to pin Hard Rock to a date in an interview she and Hard Rock Casino Rockford President Geno Iafrate did with Strickly Slots magazine.

“She said she’d sure like a hotel for her 100th birthday present,” Iafrate told the Rock River Current. “I told her I would do my best. That’s the closest I’ve gotten to a commitment at this point.”

Blair, 98, would turn 100 on Jan. 16, 2027.

For now, there remains no official timeline to start the project.

“It’s premature to have anything definitive, but it’s no secret: We wanted a hotel in phase one,” Iafrate said. “It was just given the supply chain, inflation and the post-COVID disruption and economic shocks that occurred it wasn’t financially feasible to fit the hotel into that initial phase.”

The hotel would be constructed on the northeast side of the building, taking over some of the roughly 1,700 parking spaces that fill the lot now. No designs have been finalized, but Hard Rock previously said it was to have 200 to 250 rooms.

Closing in on one year

Since Hard Rock opened its permanent casino late last August, it has become one of the most successful casinos in the state in terms of admissions and gaming revenue.

Hard Rock ranks third among the state’s 17 casinos in total admissions and gaming revenue this year. It trails Rivers Casino in Des Plaines, just a few miles from O’Hare International Airport, and Wind Creek Chicago Southland casino in East Hazel Crest.

Hard Rock has had nearly 720,000 admissions and nearly $73 million in gaming revenue from January through June this year. That’s a 128% increase in admissions and 95% increase in gaming revenue year-over-year, according to data gathered from the Illinois Gaming Board.

The spike largely illustrates the growth in activity at the casino since it moved from a temporary facility to the permanent venue. Iafrate says the gaming revenue only tells part of the story for Hard Rock Rockford.

“This is a full entertainment facility. Two free stages in the casino, seven restaurants, multiple bars, the full concert/banquet facility Hard Rock Live,” he said. “I’m delightfully surprised at how much the non-gaming aspects of this facility — how well they’ve performed.”

Related: Hard Rock Casino Rockford to host hiring event as it nears the 1,000-employee mark

Casinos are required to report to the state Gaming Board monthly admissions and gaming revenue. That data shows gaming revenue has generated $12.1 million in state taxes and $4.3 million in local taxes. Rockford receives 70% of the local taxes while Winnebago County gets 20% and 5% goes to both Loves Park and Machesney Park, per the terms of a revenue-sharing agreement. Data isn’t available for sales taxes or food and beverage taxes generated at the facility.

“Hard Rock Cafe has to be the busiest restaurant in Winnebago County – it’s just killing it,” Iafrate said. “I think Council Oak is just an unparalleled fine-dining experience and the team there does a phenomenal job. Yu Yu is kind of the secret gem of the place. The Asian food in that restaurant is to die for.”

In May, Hard Rock won six “Chicagoland’s Best” awards from Casino Player magazine. Hard Rock earned top honors for best new restaurant, best pizza, best happy hour, best overall entertainment, best place to see a concert and best place to people watch.

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas