BELOIT CASINO PROJECT CLEARS IMPORTANT HURDLE BIA REGIONAL OFFICE APPROVES APPLICATION

The Bad River and the St. Croix Chippewa Tribes are pleased to confirm that we have been informed by the Regional Office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) in Fort Snelling, MN. that our Trust Land Application for the Beloit Casino Project has been forwarded to the BIA in Washington D.C. with a recommendation for approval.   The approval, of the Preferred Alternative, was made under the two part determination criteria of Section 20 (b) (1) (A) of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA).  The Preferred Alternative includes a Class III gaming casino with a hotel, convention center, and water park to be located in Beloit, Wisconsin.   

 Bad River Chippewa Chairman Bigboy explained,

       One of the main purposes of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act is
       for disadvantaged tribes to gain success through gaming.  When
       we were invited to Beloit we did not have a clear idea that the
       trust land approval process would move so slowly.  Anyone who
       tells you how quickly these things happen has not really looked at
       the process.  We are glad that the application was approved at the
       Regional Office but there are still some obstacles that must be
       overcome.  We believe that the most difficult part of the process
       is behind us.  As I’ve said before – we’re going to get this project
       built.
       
The Beloit Casino Project application process formally got underway in November of 2000 after 61% of the citizens of Beloit voted in favor of entering into an agreement with the two Tribes.  An Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) was signed in 2001.  An Environmental Assessment was completed in 2003.  A Draft Environmental Impact Study was started in 2005. The Draft of the Final Environmental Impact Study, which should formally give the casino project a clean bill of health, was transmitted for final internal review, to the BIA in Washington D.C. in November of 2006. Following a full review of the entire administrative record and some recent technical corrections to the IGA, the completed trust land application is being forwarded to George Skibine in the Office of Indian Gaming Management at the Department of Interior in Washington D.C.  Once the federal approval process has been completed and the application has been signed, the final step in the process is the negotiation of a compact and a signature by the governor of Wisconsin.

The two Tribes are proposing to take 26 acres of land in Beloit into trust status.  The project will be built in two phases and includes a 100,000 square foot casino and support area, a 35,000 square foot conference/convention center, several restaurants, a 7,000 square foot child care facility, and a gift shop on the trust land.  A 500 unit hotel, 2,000 seat theatre, year-round water park, and additional parking facilities will be built on an adjacent fee parcel.  When complete the complex will employ 3000 workers in competitively waged permanent positions.  The initial costs of the facility will be 200 million dollars.

St. Croix Chairman David Merrill stated:

       This has been a long time in coming, this project will provide both
       the St. Croix and Bad River people with much needed economic
       development. We are grateful to Beloit, South Beloit, and Rock
       County and all the volunteers and elected representatives who
       continue to support the project. We are eager to move forward. 

In addition to planned trips to Washington D.C. to meet with BIA officials, three formal work groups are active in preparing for the eventual construction of the project.

All project related inquiries should be sent to the Beloit Casino Project Information Offices, 421 East Grand Ave., Beloit, WI. 53511.