Hosting two casinos will put generate enough money to pay for almost half of the unfunded capital improvement projects slated for Ontario’s Niagara Falls.
The city has about 75 capital projects planned but no funding for them, saying it needs about $13.5 million. Among unfunded improvement plans are fire, transportation, parks, and municipal works projects.
The city already received some $18.5 million in revenue sharing from the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, and anticipates its fourth-quarter share will cover about half of the $13.5 shortfall, allowing it to proceed with several of the 75 unfunded capital projects, but not all of them.
On the other side of the Niagara River, the Seneca Nation’s plan to open a gas station and retail store on tribal land located within Niagara Falls, New York, city limits, drew less than hearty praise.
Local critics acknowledge the tribe has the right to build what it wants on the land, which is held in federal trust. But critics say a gas station and convenience store does not add to the community and only will detract from existing businesses.
The Seneca Nation counters that argument by saying it is just the start of bigger developments to come, and the community as a whole will benefit from increased development and economic activity over time.
The Seneca Nation in 2003 opened a casino in Niagara Falls and added a 604-room hotel and spa, expanded the casino, and added an entertainment venue and restaurants.
Since then, the tribe has been a primary driver of the local economy and now employs more than 6,000.
In New York’s Madison County, a state lawmaker wants the Oneida Indian Nation to give a larger share of its slots gaming operations to Madison County by declaring Madison County the casino’s host county.
The Oneida Nation, though, says the time for negotiations ended in 2013, the agreement cannot be amended without running afoul of court orders. The tribe also says Madison County only gave up 1,000 acres of tax-free land to Oneida County’s 7,000 acres to help make the tribe’s casino a reality.
