At their monthly meeting, held in Altoona, the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission recently heard presentations from three applications competing for a license for a casino in downtown Cedar Rapids. The proposals include the million Wild Rose Cedar Rapids, and two options from the Cedar Rapids Development Group-Peninsula Pacific Partnership: the 5 million Cedar Crossing Central and the 5 million Cedar Crossing on the River.
The next step in the selection process will be site visits by commissioners in Cedar Rapids in September. They will announce their final decision to grant any or none of the license requests at the November 16 meeting in Dubuque.
Wild Rose Cedar Rapids and Cedar Crossing Central proposed casinos across the street from each other on First Avenue E near the DoubleTree Hotel. Cedar Crossing on the River is the same proposal on the west bank of the Cedar River that the commission rejected in a 4-1 vote in April 2014, citing revenue cannibalization.
City Manager Jeff Pomeranz has called the two options proposed by and Cedar Rapids Development Group-Peninsula Pacific Partnership a “wonderful fit for the city. This group listened to us and I think came up with an innovative plan to put this casino in the air and connect to the parking structure and hotel and convention center,” Pomeranz said.
However, he also said the city would welcome Wild Rose Cedar Rapids. “We are not against any proposal. We are working with Cedar Rapids Development Group based on an original memorandum of understanding, and that proposal was re-upped a few months ago.”
Some changes have occurred since the developers first announced their plans. Wild Rose committed 5 percent of its adjusted gambling revenue, totaling about $2.4 million in donations annually, to local charities, which is above the required 3 percent and an increase from a previous offer of 4 percent. Both Cedar Crossing proposals offer a sliding scale up to 5 percent for local nonprofits.
Wild Rose President and Chief Operating Officer Tom Timmons presented a proposal for a “boutique” casino in a four-story, glass-sided building. He noted it is much smaller than the others, by design. “If anything is going to get the commission’s approval, it’s got to be a smaller casino, and then you have to look at what does a casino do for downtown Cedar Rapids. I don’t think you necessarily want to put in a big steakhouse, pizza place and bar to compete. That’s why we proposed what we did. We are trying to listen to what the commission said and what fits downtown Cedar Rapids,” Timmons said.
Peninsula Pacific Chief Executive Brent Stevens pointed out Cedar Crossing Central has about the same number of gambling positions as Wild Rose, with more than double the private investment. “That is long-term thinking, it’s sustainable, it’s about the customer, it’s about the community, it’s about the parking garage integrated over the railroad. We are not afraid to invest the capital because we are confident we can make this work,” Stevens stated.
Responding to the developers’ proposals for smaller casinos, Commissioner Jeff Lamberti said, “It’s certainly a new concept but also probably some recognition of growth in the industry and concern over how much is too much saturation. I don’t know if we as a commission necessarily came up with the idea smaller could find a niche, but certainly these two developers have thought that is something that could work. Our studies are ongoing and we’ll see what the results are,” Lamberti added.
He noted gambling revenues from the state’s 19 casinos showed “modest growth” of a 1 percent increase or $15.7 million to nearly $1.45 billion in the fiscal year ending June 30 compared to the previous year. The record was $1.47 billion in adjusted gross revenue in fiscal 2012.
Specifically, Cedar Crossing on the River would offer 840 slot machines and 30 table games, four restaurants, a bar, retail area and 400-seat event center. Cedar Crossing Central would have 550 slot machines and 15 table games, two restaurants, including Sinclair’s Steakhouse, and beverage service. Wild Rose Entertainment would feature 600 slot machines and 20 table games, a bar and show lounge.
