In Michigan, the Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians announced it has paid in full—two years in advance—the $30 million loan originally taken out in 1995 to finance construction of Lac Vieux Desert Northern Waters Casino Resort in Watersmeet.
Tribal Chairman James Williams Jr. said, “Being debt-free has always been the plan of tribal leadership and the entire LVD community. Paying off this major debt is not only a big step forward for our self-sufficiency, but it also gives us more flexibility in financial decision-making, with principal and interest savings that allow for long-term financial planning and improved services to tribal members.”
The tribe refinanced the debt several times over two-plus decades, but economic conditions made paying it off and moving forward with capital improvements nearly impossible. In 2014, LVD refinanced with Devon Bank, and refinanced the loan again with Devon in 2018; it was not scheduled to mature until 2021.
Williams noted, “Paying off this casino debt would not have been possible without our other economic development enterprises, specifically the revenues generated by our tribal lending businesses and the investments that we have made into them. We can now continue to decrease tribal debt, build a rainy day fund, develop and implement a general welfare program and focus on community infrastructure development.”
