Study Says Construction Of MGM Springfield Boosted Massachusetts Economy

Updated at 10:31 a.m. on September 30, 2019 

A new report says the construction of MGM Springfield added more than half a billion dollars to the economy of Massachusetts. 

Researchers from the UMass Donahue Institute presented the study to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.

They found that the building of MGM Springfield boosted the gross state product by $512 million since 2015. That includes the impact of construction workers spending money they have earned.

Economist Rod Motamedi, the lead author of the report, said the state overall benefited.

"Every county in the state received at least some direct or indirect economic benefit from the construction of MGM Springfield," he said. "And those benefits grew with proximity to Springfield."

The report also found the racial and ethnic mix of the workforce that built the casino reflected the diversity of the state.

Motamedi said UMass researchers will continue to study the impacts of MGM Springfield as well as the Plainridge Park Casino and the new Encore Boston Harbor. 

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the researchers who conducted the study are part of UMass Amherst. In fact, the researchers are with the Donahue Institute, which is located in Hadley and is part of the UMass system, but not the Amherst campus.