Halfway Done, Progress Continues For Margaritaville Along Arkansas River

Construction for Margaritaville at River Spirit Casino and Spa is in full swing - half of the hotel tower is now up.

The 27-story hotel will be one of the highest buildings along the banks of the Arkansas River and Tuesday, News On 6 got a tour of the construction site to see the progress.

We suited up in vests and hard hats and went up to the tenth floor of the hotel. It's a very active construction site, and everything is right on schedule.

It may sound like construction, but it’s actually the sound of progress as the Margaritaville Hotel at River Spirit Resort and Casino takes shape.

River Spirit Casino CEO, Pat Crofts said, "When it's done, it'll be the greatest looking building in the city, and the most exciting place to be in the whole area.”

The 27-story hotel will have 483 rooms, a new casino, along with a two-story Jimmy Buffet Margaritaville restaurant and bar with decks overlooking the pool.

7/3/2015 Related Story: Margaritaville's 5 O'Clock Somewhere Bar Opens At River Spirit

Crofts said, "You could find this project in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, anywhere in the world, we could compete, it's going to be a great project."

The views from the hotel rooms overlook the Arkansas River and have the downtown skyline in the distance. On the south side, the steel frame will hold 85 gaming machines and over 25 poker tables.

Project Director Ryan Haynie said, "This is a giant project for the city of Tulsa and it's a really fun one to work on."

Haynie is in charge of the more than 350 construction workers who work on the site daily and keeping everything on schedule.

"We place, basically, a floor every seven days. So the guys will come in this Wednesday and place the floor for 15, and we will start the process of placing the walls and columns for 16," he said.

At that rate, all 27 floors will be up in January, even if we have bad weather, according to Haynie.

“Now that we are out of the ground and going vertical there isn't a whole lot of impact, weather-wise, for us," he said.

Crofts said, "Everything will be enclosed before winter of this year, so they can work all through the winter without any interruptions."

Crews will keep hammering away until the luxury hotel and casino is complete.

There will also be an entertainment venue built on the south end of the casino, which will fit up to 3,000 people.

The casino and restaurants will open first, sometime in September, and the hotel by the end of 2016.