MGM Redesigns Springfield Casino Without Hotel Tower

MGM is making changes to the resort casino it is building in Springfield.

The casino company submitted redesigned plans to the city Tuesday eliminating a 25-story glass hotel tower and 54 apartment units.

The new plan now moves the hotel, which will still offer 250 rooms, from the middle of the complex to Main Street, where the apartments were located.

The six-story hotel would also include retail spaces on the ground level; the housing units would be somewhere outside the complex.

MGM says the plans don't change the $800 million project cost. The casino has been delayed at least a year and is now expected to open in September 2018.

Mayor Domenic Sarno said the redesign offers "increased walkability" and a better fit for the city's historic downtown.