A grand opening celebration recently was held for the Upper Sioux Community’s $4.7 million, two-story, smoke-free addition at Prairie’s Edge Casino Resort in Granite Falls, Minnesota.
The 22,000-square-foot addition is joined to the main casino, convention center and hotel but its separated from the main facility by its own doors and contains its own heating, cooling and ventilation systems. The addition is the largest no-smoking area with an exclusive ventilation system in a Minnesota casino.
General Manager Barry Joannides said, “This is a completely unique environment. It truly is clean air. You will notice the difference between the two spaces.” Joannides noted the casino has offered a separate non-smoking area within the casino for many years. Currently it has 150 gaming machines. More can be added in the new fresh-air section, he said, adding he hopes the fresh-air facility will attract new customers from greater distances.
Joannides said the new addition also features the Prairie Tap Room, Prairie Cafe and the Sunset Lounge and Patio, plus a new kitchen. It also offers a stage and an eight-foot by 14-foot high-resolution video screen that will play Twins and Vikings games and can be divided into four screens for simultaneous viewing.
Joannides said with the addition, Prairie’s Edge Casino Resort now includes 160,000 square feet of interior space. It also offers an RV camping park and gasoline and convenience store on the grounds. Looking ahead, Joannides said an expansion to the hotel would be possible in a few years, based on current use trends.
The addition is the first major expansion at the property since 2011, when a $14 million expansion nearly doubled its size with the addition of hotel rooms, a banquet and convention center and space for more than 1,000 gaming machines.
One of the area’s largest employers, Prairie’s Edge employs 350 people, with 12 new positions added with the expansion.
