SPRINGFIELD – It took six meetings, the last with a debate lasting more than two hours, but nearing 10 p.m. on Feb. 22, the City Council approved both the MGM Springfield site plan and the amendments to the Host Community Agreement (HCA).

By the time the vote was taken, the City Council chamber was filled with relieved and smiling attorneys and city and MGM officials. The casino company will still need final design and construction schedule approval from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission in order to start construction, according to an MGM spokesperson.

The vote to approve was not unanimous, though, with City Council President Michael Fenton casting the only “no” vote for each measure.

Speaking before the final vote, Fenton said the council’s approval of the site plan and the HCA amendments was the start of a long relationship between the city and the gaming and resort company.

He called the casino “the biggest opportunity” in the city’s history and the “biggest risk.”

Fenton was one of two councilors, the other being Orlando Ramos, who expressed continued concern about the change from a 25-story glass and steel hotel tower to a six floor hotel. Citing a report that analyzed the changes, Fenton said there were possible “ancillary disadvantages” to the elimination of the tower.

Although the report was “largely positive,” Fenton said the much-publicized decreases in the size of the project – the cutting back of the parking garage, bowling alley and cinemas, among others – also meant cutting 181 jobs.

Although the council could not restore the tower, Fenton said he was “incredibly proud” of the work the council had done over the course of the six meetings. The casino development is a “much better project” due to the hearings by the council. He added the abutters and the city were “much better off.”

Over the course of the meeting, several issues were brought up by the councilors. Councilor Bud Williams sought some sort of assurance MGM would not bring in a pizza or Italian restaurant that would compete with the Red Rose restaurant.

Michael Mathis, the president of MGM Springfield, said at this time he could not reveal any details about the kind of restaurants or retail vendors that would be part of the development. He did emphasize, “The last thing I want to do is to put a business out of business.”

All of the amendments to the HCA were collected in one general amendment, which Ramos proposed to vote on individually. City Solicitor Edward Pikula warned against such a process, as legally the document was negotiated and written as a single amendment.

Councilors expressed concerns about the revised language in the amendment regulating the number of apartments MGM intends to build. Originally 54 apartments were part of the casino project in 2015, MGM officials announced they would move the apartments off the campus in order to keep the development and the subsequent rental prices within those of the Springfield market.

In the HCA amendment the phrase “approximately 54” apartments was used to describe the number. Pikula said the change would allow city officials to try to get more than 54 apartments out of the agreement. Pikula added the HCA stipulated 54 apartments.

Mathis, when asked of the status of the apartments, noted MGM was in the process of closing on 195 State St., the building formerly used as the school district headquarters, and are looking at other properties in order to meet the threshold of 54 market rate units.

The council, after much discussion, voted to amend the language to read “no less than 54 apartments.”

Councilor Timothy Allen asked about the ownership of the apartments and sought an assurance MGM would not sell them to another owner once they are completed.

Mathis said the apartments would be “either owned and operated by MGM or branded MGM.” He added, “Between these three there would be a very strong involvement.”

Ramos also expressed concerns about a revised sign that was not as large as originally planned, Mathis said the new sign was more in keeping with the city and the design of the casino.

Councilor Kenneth Shea told his colleagues the MGM project would be the largest in the city’s history, dwarfing projects such as the construction of City Hall or the creation of the Cobble Mountain Reservoir.

Councilor Timothy Rooke noted with a smile that the construction of City Hall was marked with controversy about the construction of its tower.