The NEC Group, which runs Birmingham’s National Exhibition Centre, has announced it will partner with Genting Stanley (Solihull) Ltd (GSSL) on the proposed addition of a £90m leisure and entertainment complex, including a large casino, to the site in Solihull.

Genting Stanley, the UK casino operator owned by Malaysia-based Genting International, created GSSL as a subsidiary to finance, own and operate the facility.

Details are still being developed, but the proposed complex will feature a spa, hotel, and bars and restaurants together with “other significant leisure attractions” and the casino, which is expected to comprise less than 10 percent of the floor area.

The NEC Group will likely take conference and banqueting space in the new facility as a tenant, a spokesperson for the group said.

Timelines for the project are not set, but the competitive and planning processes are expected to take at least a year and a half, and the site would probably not open for another two and a half years after that, she said.

The development will transform the National Exhibition Centre’s offer and provide a platform to allow the site to compete in a highly competitive global venue market, the NEC Group said in a statement.

The project is also the first phase of a plan for the National Exhibition Centre site that will deliver a range of business and leisure facilities to compliment the existing exhibition halls and arena.

“I look forward to working with the Genting Stanley team to demonstrate to Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council that our proposal represents the strongest, most deliverable, most exciting and most appropriate opportunity for the local area in order that we can realise our strategy of providing a world class ‘work, rest and play’ environment at the National Exhibition Centre,” said NEC Group chief executive Paul Thandi.

Councillor Mike Whitby, leader of Birmingham City Council, NEC Group’s shareholder, said: “The National Exhibition Centre site has tremendous strengths as a site for the leisure and entertainment complex. There is a natural fit with the core business of exhibition and events and the venue has a long track record of welcoming visitors.”

The development is an important opportunity to attract more visitors to Birmingham and the West Midlands, Whitby added.