SPRINGFIELD — The Massachusetts Gaming Commission recently announced it had awarded Springfield $2.86 million for improvements for fiscal year 2025 through its Community Mitigation Fund.
The fund was created in 2015, four years after the state legalized casino gambling.
Since then, the commission has distributed $56.7 million in grants from the Community Mitigation Fund for projects focused on education, transportation, infrastructure, housing, environmental issues, public safety and emergency services as they relate to the casino’s presence.
This year, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission released $18 million in grants to 31 cities, towns and regional entities to offset potential impacts of casinos in the state. The amount awarded to each municipality is based on a distribution formula that considers proximity to the casino, traffic and community agreement status.
“The Community Mitigation Fund is an important and impactful program aimed at maximizing the benefits of legalized gambling while mitigating any unintended impacts associated with the operation of the Commonwealth’s casinos,” MGC interim Chair Jordan Maynard said in a press release.
In Springfield, this year’s funding will be used for infrastructure in the form of signage to “provide clear wayfinding throughout and attraction to all the retail, business and tourism offerings in the area around MGM, Court Square and MassMutual,” according to the city’s application.
Springfield Chief Development Officer Tim Sheehan explained that the casino and MassMutual Center bring in a significant number of visitors who are unfamiliar with the downtown area. The wayfinding signage will be concentrated on Main, Dwight and Union streets, and Harrison and East Columbus avenues.
The second phase of a “connectivity and public realm” project will also be funded through the gaming commission grant. Sheehan said the city is looking to expand its “interstitial park system,” a series of green spaces throughout the downtown. The trail of open spaces that includes Duryea Way, Sterns Square and Steiger Park, would be extended toward Union Street, Sheehan said, making the area greener and more walkable.
“More open space is good for the environment, it’s good for people who live downtown, it’s good for people who work downtown,” Sheehan said.
While increasing walkability is important, cars are still the primary mode of transportation and parking is an ongoing challenge in the city. The Gaming Commission had committed to funding $3 million for a parking garage to be built at the corner of Willow and Cross streets. The city’s FY24 Community Mitigation Fund grant included the first $1.5 million for work on a parking garage. The second half of the funding is included in this year’s grant.
Sheehan said the preliminary design work has been completed and the city is in the final design phase. A nearby housing project will begin construction in late 2025. Due to the proximity, construction on the garage will not be started until the first project is nearing completion. Sheehan said the structure is expected to be erected quickly, however, because it will use prefabricated decking, similar to the MassMutual Center parking garage.
Some of the grant funding will be directed toward the Springfield Police Department’s operations around the casino.
Public Information Officer Ryan Walsh explained that prior to the casino opening, the department created the Metro Unit to focus on the influx of people visiting MGM Springfield and the MassMutual Center. Walsh said the volume of traffic and pedestrians that visit the two sites was “a gamechanger” in downtown Springfield.
The grant funding will help to cover the cost of Metro Unit operations, as well as training on sexual assault and cybercrimes, crisis intervention and “Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training.”
Equipment and tools are also slated to be purchased with the funding. The Springfield Police Department will receive four new mobile cameras, two Recon Power Bikes, microphones and earpieces, while the Rescue Squad and TAC-1 unit that respond to the area around the casino will receive new sets of extrication tools, commonly known as “jaws of life.”
Walsh said the investments are meant to help during large-scale events, like the NCAA Division 1 Men’s Hockey Regional that took place in March, the June 2024 Ironman 70.3 Western Massachusetts and several large high school and college graduations. So far, Walsh said the Metro Unit has been successful, as there was no crime related to those events.
The final component to this grant will fund the continuance of a Community-Based Participatory Research Plan, which explores the impacts of the casino on young adults in Springfield.
