History
The Sky Tower, convention centre and hotel were all built by Fletcher Construction and completed by 1997.
SkyCity was the second casino in the country. At the time of its construction, it was controversial, just like the Sky Tower itself. Unlike the city's icon towering above it, major figures like former Auckland Mayor Dick Hubbard have remained critical of the casino, though he acknowledged that the complex itself has been positive for the city. However, there is criticism from various sources that the casino creates problem gambling and does not ban problem gamblers proactively enough.
The casino provides almost 2000 jobs (as of January 2006), and has returned NZ$670 million in dividends to mainly Australian shareholders, from more than eight million visitors that have passed through, 15% from overseas. NZ$18.6 million dollars were also paid to community organisations and trusts in the same time. 1.5% of the operating profit has to be paid out to charity according to law.
With profits at its parent, the SKYCITY Entertainment Group, falling, it has recently (May 2007) been announced that around 230 staff of Sky City would be let go within the coming 12–18 months, though it was considered that this was likely to be mostly through turnover attrition, and will be focused on management staff.
Read more about this topic: Skycity Auckland
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