The MGM Grand in Las Vegas

Las Vegas, Nov. 8 (AP): Casino operator MGM Mirage Inc. has said it will help build a $3- billion non-gambling hotel resort in Abu Dhabi with that government’s development firm, Mubadala Development Co. The property is expected to open in 2012.

The project, planned on 50 acres on a downtown waterfront site on Abu Dhabi Island, will consist of an MGM Grand hotel and two other MGM branded luxury hotels with more than 1,200 rooms.

It will also feature an arena with up to 12,000 seats, retail shops and restaurants, waterfront residences and private yacht berths, said Gamal Aziz, president of the companies’ joint venture firm, MGM Mirage Hospitality.

The arena is likely to host regional performers along with western acts that often appear at MGM Mirage’s casino properties in Las Vegas, Aziz said.

“When I left Abu Dhabi, they had Justin Timberlake playing at one of the properties there,” he said. “They sold 15,000 tickets in less than an hour, so it’s a similar dynamic to what we have in the MGM Grand.”

MGM Mirage will develop and manage the project for a fee while Mubadala will own it. The property, aimed at the high-end market, will have “unparalleled views of the city skyline” and “stunning panoramic views of the waterfront”, the companies said in a release.

The development is the first phase of a three-phase project that could eventually cover 150 acres, Aziz said.

The companies are also planning to develop luxury residential apartments and villas, sales of which would offset construction costs, much like at MGM Mirage's $7.8-billion CityCenter project to open in late 2009 in Las Vegas.

The MGM Grand Abu Dhabi is the first project of MGM Mirage Hospitality, the joint venture firm the companies set up in April to develop non-gambling hotels and resorts around the world.

Aziz said the group is looking for other sites to develop.