The 1,300,000-square-foot (120,000 m 2) casino complex is located on the 22-acre (8.9 ha) site of the former Jack Frost Sugar Refinery, hence the 'SugarHouse' name and on a site where a British Revolutionary Era fort was once located. This support is largely in part because of a community benefits agreement along with the New Kensington CDC. On the other side, Fishtown Action (FACT), the largest membership organization in the nearby community with over 600 members, has continuously supported the casino project.
Residents of the Fishtown neighborhood have taken the lead in the creation and leadership of the prominent anti-casino organizations, including Casino Free Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Neighborhood Alliance, and Neighbors Allied for the Best Riverfront. Many neighborhood residents sought to prevent the development of the casino due to quality of life issues. SugarHouse Casino was awarded a gaming license on Decemby the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, along with four others. Rivers Casino Philadelphia, formerly SugarHouse Casino, is a casino entertainment development along the Delaware River in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania's Fishtown neighborhood, one of five stand-alone casinos awarded a gaming license on Decemby the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.
