Highview Development Group, which includes Wild Rose Entertainment, recently presented a plan to the Des Moines Airport Authority board to build a $225 million casino and hotel at the facility. The developers say the project would help pay for a planned new 18-gate terminal scheduled to open in 2028. Officials have been seeking $194 million from various sources to cover the $500 million project.
Highview’s project would feature a 350-room hotel connected to the airport by a skywalk, plus a fountain, rock garden, restaurant and wedding and banquet facilities.
Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino in Altoona opened as a horse racetrack in 1989 and has remained the lone casino in metropolitan Des Moines. It added slot machines in 1995 and table games in 2004.
In 2014 and 2017, the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission (IRGC) rejected investors’ proposals for a casino in Cedar Rapids. The IRGC said the casino market is saturated and a new casino could cannibalize other casinos’ income.
The airport board plans to discuss the proposal at its February meeting.
