March 6, 2003
Tribe says no casino yet
Read more:
TAXES: Land won't come off local tax rolls
PLANS: New GM's focus will be dual marketing
REACTION: News of deal spurs praise, some concern
ANALYSIS: Gambling may not be near at GT Resort
TIMELINE: Key events in history of the GT Resort
Amphitheater plans out,
water park may be in
By
Record-Eagle staff writer
PESHAWBESTOWN - The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians will take a few years before opening a casino at the Grand Traverse Resort & Spa, tribal officials said Wednesday in announcing the purchase later this month of the multimillion-dollar Acme property.
Instead, the tribe will concentrate on improving the public areas of the resort and developing a joint marketing program for the resort and the tribe's nearby Turtle Creek Casino, tribal officials said. A water park, similar to the one opening next week at the Great Wolf Lodge south of Traverse City, is one of many possibilities to be considered.
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GT Band Tribal Chairman Robert Kewaygoshkum. |
Longer term plans include closing the Turtle Creek Casino and opening a casino at the resort, tribal officials said.
The tribe's Leelanau Sands Casino in Peshawbestown would be unaffected.
Tribal officials said Wednesday they believe the purchase of the resort from KSL Recreation Inc. of LaQuinta, Calif., is the first time an American Indian tribe has bought a full-service resort instead of building one. The deal gives the Grand Traverse Band the largest resort in the Midwest and the tallest building north of Grand Rapids.
Tourism experts say the resort and its array of amenities including a health spa, beach club, golf courses and convention center makes the tribe a strong contender for attracting more gaming customers and gives it a powerful marketing tool for drawing conventions and business meetings.
No price was disclosed but tribal leaders said the tribe would be paying more than the $45 million KSL paid to buy it in 1997 and less than the $75-80 million KSL was reportedly asking.
Tribal chairman Robert Kewaygoshkum said the tribe has pledged to retain existing resort staff while bringing in some of its own managers. That includes retaining all management and supervisory staff except for general manager Paul McCormick, who will stay with KSL Recreation Corp. He will be replaced by long-time hotel and casino manager Andrew Bateman, 54, a native of England who has been working with Isle of Capri Casinos Inc., a gaming company with 14 casinos in six states.
All resort staff will have to reapply for their jobs, tribal officials said, because they will be working for a different employer. The details will be explained at a staff meeting Friday. Resort staff went through a similar re-hiring process when KSL bought the resort.
Kewaygoshkum said there will be no further expansion or development of the Turtle Creek Casino, about a mile and a half east of the resort. A little over a year ago the band announced plans for a 355-room hotel, a large convention center and an outdoor amphitheater along with expansion of the casino. None of that will happen now, he said.
Also, the tribe has no plan to build an amphitheater at the resort.
He said the tribe will continue to operate its Leelanau Sands Casino and lodging in Leelanau County's Peshawbestown, where the tribe is based. "Peshawbestown will always be home base," he said.
The sale, to be completed later this month, comes three months after the tribe had said it was no longer interested in buying the resort.
"We've had discussions on and off for several months and at one point decided it wasn't in our best interests to do the deal, but then it came together in the last few weeks," Kewaygoshkum said.
Jeff Livingston, chief executive officer of Traverse Bay Entertainment, the tribe's economic arm that manages its casinos, said public sentiment encouraged the tribe to rethink the deal.
"We got a strong reaction from the community, from people who thought our buying the resort would be a positive thing," Livingston said.
That support, and some movement on the part of KSL, helped to convince the tribe to look once more at buying the resort, he said.
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