Two new gaming enterprises are taking shape for the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma. Cherokee Nation Businesses recently announced a 0 million, 154-acre development, Cherokee Springs Plaza, in Tahlequah. More than one million square feet of mixed-use space will include a new Cherokee National casino—the tribe’s ninth—a hotel and convention center, plus retail and dining. In addition, a groundbreaking ceremony recently was held for the Cherokee Nation’s eighth Cherokee Casino, located in South Coffeyville, Oklahoma near the Kansas border. Construction is expected to be completed in six months at the million, 17,000 square foot facility.
Regarding the Tahlequah project, Principal Chief Bill John Baker said, “This was the last large piece of property available in the capital of the Cherokee Nation. It has the best highway frontage of any piece of property here, and lays better than anything the tribe could have dreamed of acquiring.” Cherokee Nation Businesses purchased the acreage adjacent to Cherokee Springs Golf Course in late 2012 for $8 million.
Baker added, “You can travel around the tribe’s 14-county jurisdiction and see evidence that everything CNB and Cherokee Nation Entertainment touches is first-class. We expect no different for this. The Cherokee Nation is the largest employer in eastern Oklahoma, and it seems like every week or so, we have to have some sort of conference, and we’ve been having to host them in Tulsa. We really believe that by having a convention center and hotel, it will allow people to attend those events closer to home. It will change the flow of dollars from Tulsa to the capital of the Cherokee Nation.”
Baker said CNB already has been contacted by several restaurant groups and retailers interested in locating in the new development. He said when the casino is completed, the tribe’s other casino on the Tahlequah reservation will be closed and converted to a school.
A groundbreaking ceremony recently was held for the tribe’s Cherokee Casino South Coffeyville, just south of the Kansas state line. The tribal enterprise’s eighth casino, it will offer 300 electronic games, a bar and a 50-seat restaurant, among other amenities, and employ 100 people.
Baker said, “One hundred jobs is huge for this area. By taking these paychecks home to their families, these future employees will affect the lives of countless people in the area. The hope is to fill these good, well-paying jobs with Cherokee citizens and bring much-needed economic development to this part of the Cherokee Nation.”
For the first few years of operation the facility will use modular buildings that previously served another of the tribe’s casinos, Baker said.
Shawn Slaton, chief executive officer of Cherokee Nation Businesses, added, “We are known as the best in gaming and hospitality. Growing our business helps us remain the region’s industry leader and build upon our mission of creating quality jobs within the Cherokee Nation, while generating the resources to support the tribe’s programs and people.”
The Cherokee Nation entered the entertainment industry in 1990. Today its business enterprises employ more than 3,700 people and include Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa in Catoosa, seven other Cherokee casinos, a horseracing track, three hotels, three golf courses and other commercial operations. The Cherokee Nation also makes investments for its people, such as home construction, healthcare expansion and job creation. “All of these successes are what help us to have a $1.3 billion economic impact on this state,” Baker said in his recent State of the Nation speech.
