Las Vegas NowMGM Looking for Partners for CityCenter

MGM Looking for Partners for CityCenter

MGM Mirage is looking for new partners to help make sure CityCenter opens on time. Just last week, the current partner, Dubai World, did not come up with $100 million to cover their half of a loan payment on the project.

Now MGM is maneuvering to make sure the rest of the CityCenter project will get funded.

Sources close to both MGM Mirage and Colony Capital confirm that the capital venture firm is in talks to pick up the rest of the funding that would have been paid by Dubai world.

There is concern among people inside MGM that Dubai world will not pay any more money for the project. Therefore, MGM would need another partner to make sure that CityCenter stays out of bankruptcy.

Colony Capital owns the Las Vegas Hilton in Las Vegas. The private firm also owns 35-percent of Station Casinos.

Colony Capital is not the only company being talked to about joining the project. Sources say MGM Mirage is also looking at combining a group of four or five smaller companies to come up with several hundred million dollars.

MGM Mirage needs to come up with $800 million more to have access to a credit line of $1.8 billion. If MGM can get to that credit line, analysts say there is no doubt CityCenter will be finished.

8,500 construction workers are still employed at CityCenter. If for some reason a deal could not be reached or the project goes into bankruptcy, there may be a work stoppage. As of right now, it's on schedule.