TAMPA - Tampa could gain stature as a national destination for casino aficionados under a proposed $1 billion expansion project at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.

But that's only if the Florida Legislature approves a Seminole Tribe compact forged with Gov. Charlie Crist in late 2007, a Seminole Tribe spokesman said Wednesday. In addition, the Tribe must finance the expansion, a challenge in the current credit environment.

"Compact approval is necessary to ensure the continuation of blackjack and Las Vegas-style slot machines, which are responsible for almost all of the casino revenue." said Gary Bitner, a Seminole spokesman in Hollywood, Fla.

"We already are more of a regional and national destination based on the new blackjack games, and that was evident during the Super Bowl," he said. "The expansion would continue that momentum."

The project could take another year to design and two years to build. It would be one of four expansions at Seminole gaming sites in Florida that would create 12,000 construction and full-time jobs, with the largest portion of new jobs being in Tampa, Bitner said. About 3,000 employees work at the Hard Rock at Orient Road and Interstate 4.

If You Build It, They Will Come

The local expansion would include a 20- to 22-story hotel tower to add 1,000 rooms to the 250-room Hard Rock Hotel, which stands 12 stories tall.

That would make it Tampa's largest hotel, surpassing the Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel & Marina with 717 rooms, said Steve Hayes, executive vice president of Tampa Bay & Co. the county's visitors bureau.

The expansion also would add 50,000 square feet of meeting and convention space, a 1,500- to 2,000-seat music venue and more casino space and restaurants. A new outdoor pool area and a new parking garage also is part of the plan.

The Hard Rock has "limited" meeting space that is in flux and Bitner declined to say how much is available.

"I think the expansion of the Hard Rock with its worldwide brand would add to Tampa Bay as a destination," Hayes said. "The additional meeting space would not compete with the Tampa Convention Center and I don't think it would take business from downtown Tampa."

Instead, other hotels in the Hard Rock area could seek some of the overnight business created by conferences at the higher-priced Hard Rock Hotel and benefit from the expansion, Hayes said.

The proposed expansion would follow a $120 million expansion opened to the public in September. It added 55,000 square feet of gaming space and more than 1,000 gaming machines.

Gambling Pact Still Disputed

In November, the tribe opened 104 tables for blackjack and baccarat games in an unannounced soft opening that appeared to catch state officials off guard.

Conservative state lawmakers had tried to use the courts to block additional gambling on tribal property throughout the state.

That was despite the agreement Crist forged with the Seminole Tribe that provides the state with at least $100 million annually for 25 years as a share of gaming revenue from Las Vegas-style slot machines put in operation last year and blackjack.

The state Supreme Court in July ruled the governor overstepped his authority. But the Tribe, whose gaming falls under federal jurisdiction, contends the compact became state law in January 2008 and blackjack has continued.

"It's a lot more than leverage at the current time," Bitner said about expansion being contingent on Legislative approval of the compact. He pointed out that terms have been on the line since the Tribe forged the agreement with the governor in 2007.

"This involves billions of dollars and thousands of jobs and an amazing potential to turn this into a world class casino recreation complex," Bitner said.

More details were revealed Monday in Tallahassee when the Tribe offered lawmakers $288 million for the 2009-2010 state budget, at a time the state is $4 billion short of revenue.

However, some lawmakers want fresh negotiations on a compact that they say sets a precedent for gambling in the state.

Seminole expansion already in the works includes a $22 million renovation to be unveiled at Seminole Casino Immokalee today, where slot machine space will be doubled and more than 450 new employees have been hired.

Tribune reporter Catherine Dolinski and News Channel 8 reporter Katie Coronado contributed to this report. Reporter Ted Jackovics can be reached at (813) 259-7817.