- Details
- By Chez Oxendine
- Gaming
The Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians has seen a renewal in local and state support for a casino and hotel in Grand Forks, North Dakota.
The Grand Forks Committee of the Whole approved a letter of Intent indicating initial support for the project on Jan. 27, while Senate Bill 2376 was introduced in the state legislature by Sens. Scott Meyer (R-Grand Forks) and Richard Marcillais (D-Belcourt,) alongside Representatives Landon Bahl (R-Grand Forks) and Jayme Davis (D-Rolette.)
Turtle Mountain Band Chairman Jamie AzureThe casino would be built alongside Interstate 29, on a tribally owned, 146-acre plot. The budget, per a Jan. 27 meeting by the Grand Forks Committee of the Whole, stands between $250 million and $300 million, with plans to include Class III gaming and over 200 hotel rooms, as well as a family center and amphitheatre. Turtle Mountain Band Chairman Jamie Azure said the casino’s target customers would be Canadians visiting the United States.
The facility could attract customers traveling on the Interstate who would otherwise bypass Grand Forks, Azure said.
“That dollar is driving right by the city of Grand Forks right now. This plan is to drop that net and capture that dollar before it drives through the city of Grand Forks and out of this county,” Azure told the Committee of the Whole. “That's just good economics for any city and any township.”
City Administrator Todd Feland echoed Azure’s comments while presenting the letter to the Committee for approval.
“This place would really provide a pull from an economic perspective to Grand Forks, and not only would help grow our GDP but also help area businesses," Feland said.
The Grand Forks letter of intent expresses interest in “further and more formal agreements” to establish development community integration. Future discussions could include talks around financing, workforce development, predicted economic impact, and how the planned casino would operate within federal and state regulations.
These discussions would follow an update on state regulations if SB 2376 is approved. The bill would amend an existing section in North Dakota’s Century Code, which currently limits the Turtle Mountain Band’s gaming rights to their Rolette County trust lands. The amendment would add “and on land within Grand Forks County, if approved by the Bureau of Indian Affairs under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988.”
“I know it’s not an easy lift. The Legislature tends to abstain from gaming, but I look at it as a tourism driver for our community and an economic driver not only for the community but the state,” Meyer said, per a story by the Grand Forks Herald. “I know we already might be behind the eight-ball when it comes to folks who are anti-gaming, but I’m trying to show there is a lot more to it – the tourism aspect, the spa, concerts. Hopefully, something like this also increases the retail opportunities in our community.”
The support follows the tribe’s latest attempt to launch a casino in the Grand Forks area, per a report by publication Inforum.com. Community pushback stalled an initial proposal in 2006, and state opposition stymied an attempt in 2013. Support for the measure has been buoyed by subsequent feasibility studies. A 2022 study in particular, per the Herald story, points to a potential 800 new jobs across construction and operation, and a projected $80 million in gross revenue over its first year of operation.
“That’s another reason the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, even after 20 years, decided it was time to come back to the table,” Azure told the Committee during his speech on the subject. “Now we have the data to prove what we’ve been saying all along - the stars are aligned. If this is going to move forward, now is the time to move everything forward.”
