Crown Melbourne has started construction on a ‘landmark transformation’ with a AU$200 million ($141.58 million) price tag, with a special focus on upgrading its F&B and entertainment offerings.
‘Construction is officially underway’, announced the company in a release, noting that openings will be ‘rolling out from 2026 through mid-2027’.
The casino-hotel property is adding 15 new restaurants and bars and making ‘major upgrades’ to sustainability aimed at reducing carbon emissions by 23 percent. The renovations are expected to create some 2,000 construction jobs, ‘accelerate Victoria’s visitor economy, and reshape the Crown we know today’, indicates the company.
The move comes amongst a pivot by Australia’s largest gaming operator to focus more on its non-gaming revenue, amongst lagging international tourism and a drop in VIP numbers, coupled with increased problem gambling mitigation measures.
In its financial year ended June 30th, 2025, Crown Melbourne saw a 1.3 percent drop in revenue to AU$1.4 billion ($920 million) amongst what Crown CEO David Tsai described as “a complex regulatory landscape and economic headwinds”.
Despite slowed results in Melbourne, Crown booked its first profit under the ownership of Blackstone in the fiscal year – totaling AU$142 million ($93.32 million) after divesting assets and tightening its fiscal belt.
What’s coming?
On the entertainment front, Crown Melbourne theater The Palms will increase its capacity to 1,250 people – up by 50 percent – when it relaunches in November as Crown Live Theater, indicates the Australian Financial Review.
Among the F&B upgrades is a new bar and grill restaurant by Victor Churchill, with construction starting in 2H26 and doors opening in mid-2027.
The group is also revamping the Crown Metropol’s 28th floor into a private events space.
Crown Melbourne CEO indicated that the group is aiming to return to its glory days when “the best entertainment was under this roof,” notes AFR.
“This is really about repositioning Crown to be that again in the future for this next generation of customers and guests,” he told the publication.
The development is aimed at refreshing offerings rather than due to capacity constraints, noting that it welcomes 26 million visitors each year. He lamented that the group hadn’t made significant investments or brought in new F&B features such as Nobu in some time.
“We haven’t made that type of investment and brought that kind of excitement, unfortunately, in a few years, and this is our chance to do that,” stated the executive.
The revamp is less focused on drawing the international crowd and more on encouraging domestic and regional consumption, with Domingo stating “Melburnians have changed a lot in 30 years, and we’ve evolved our offerings to appeal to this generation of customers and of tourists.”
Crown Melbourne currently operates 1,600 hotel rooms spread across Crown Towers, Crown Metropol and Crown Promenade. The property’s casino boasts 540 gaming tables and over 2,600 electronic gaming machines.
