The Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority last week announced the closing of financing for its partner, the Cowlitz Gaming Authority to build a casino proposed for the reservation in Clark County, Washington.
This will allow the $550 million casino proposed for the 152-acre reservation near La Center to go forward. The partners hope that the casino will open in mid-2017. The casino will be managed by Salishan-Mohegan LLC, a subsidiary of the Mohegan Tribe.
Robert J. Soper, chief executive officer and president of the Authority hailed the step: “This is a monumental step both for the Cowlitz Tribe and for the Authority as developer and manager, as we can now proceed with the development of what we believe will be the finest and most successful resort in the Pacific Northwest, which is expected to be open to the public in mid-2017.”
The tribes plan to build the casino resort in four phases. The initial phase will include building a new interchange on Interstate 5 and a casino resort with 67,000 square feet of games, dining, and showroom. Ultimately the project will include a hotel with over 400 rooms, more dining, tribal offices, and a gas station.
Moody’s Investor Service resigned assigned a B3 Corporate Family Rating to the $485 million casino financing. Such bonds are considered speculative and subject to a high credit risk.
The tribe was recognized in 2000 and in 2010 the Bureau of Indian Affairs put the land into trust. This prompted a lawsuit by opponents, including the city of Vancouver, Clark County, the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde, and Citizens Against Reservation Shopping who claimed that the Cowlitz tribe could not show historic ties to the area and that they were “reservation shopping” for land as close to Portland as possible.
The tribe won the lawsuit in December 2014 in U.S. District Court but that decision is being appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
