Bradley International Airport’s operator has apparently sweetened its bid for a casino by proposing to accommodate an interim facility in an airport hotel while a permanent casino is built.

“As part of the CAA’s proposal to host a casino, we’ve put forward a concept that would allow an interim facility to be put in place at the Sheraton Hotel ...” a spokeswoman for the Connecticut Airport Authority, said Thursday in a statement. “At this point, it is just a concept and there are no further specifics at this time.”

Kevin Dillon, the authority’s executive director, publicly discussed the interim casino plan Wednesday in Hartford, The Hartford Courant reported.

The Windsor Locks airport is one of five potential sites for the casino the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes hope to develop in the Hartford area to fend off competition from MGM Springfield, a $950 million facility under construction in nearby Massachusetts.

The tribes, respective owners of Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun, also are considering the Bradley Teletheater at the airport as well as sites in East Hartford, East Windsor and Hartford.

The Sheraton Hartford Hotel at Bradley Airport is owned by R.K. Bradley Associates, a partnership between affiliates of The Simon Konover Co. of West Hartford and the Waterford Group.

In a statement, the ownership described the hotel as “an amenity at the airport.”

“If the airport location is selected for the casino, we would work closely with the Airport Authority to support their needs on both a short and long term basis,” the partnership said. “Economic conditions would drive any decision related to expansion of the hotel in the future.”

It’s unclear whether the airport authority has pitched its interim casino plan to MMCT Venture, the tribal partnership formed to vet proposals.

“While we have not set a deadline for site selection, we are aggressively working through our internal process to assure that we meet our goal — building a facility that preserves Connecticut jobs and revenue,” Andrew Doba, an MMCT spokesman, said in a statement.

Any casino development would require the approval of the state legislature, which convenes next week.

b.hallenbeck@theday.com

Twitter: @bjhallenbeck