The Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa’s .5 million renovation of the Fond-du-Luth Casino in Duluth, Minnesota will begin this summer, said Chairwoman Karen Diver. “We really felt we couldn’t put it off much longer. The project probably is a lesser remodel than we might have planned but it was so overdue that we’re going to move forward with these improvements anyway,” she said. Planning began in 2009 but has been blocked by litigation.
“The basic layout of the floor will change a bit, some of the flow of the operations will be changed a little bit, making it a little more user friendly,” Diver said.
The first floor of the casino will become non-smoking. General Manager Maurice Ojibway said customers have been asking for that. “Even some smokers. They are tired of ‘smoking’ casinos in general,” he said. Diver said a new heating, ventilation and air conditioning system and physical separation of the floors should help minimize the effects of smoke. “We’ll try it and see if it has an impact. Our history has shown us those areas don’t receive as much play as the rest of the floor, but we will attempt it downtown to see how receptive customers are to change.”
The second floor also will be remodeled. A contemporary, neutral interior will update the current colorful look. The casino’s surveillance system also will be updated.
In addition, a new LED facade will replace the 20-year old Art Deco, neon-lit front. “The Art Deco theme was really interesting and new when first built in 1986, but it’s become incredibly dated. The facade improvements will blend in nicely with a lot of the redevelopment happening in Old Downtown,” Diver said.
The expansion project does not include the adjacent Carter Hotel, which is owned by the tribe. The tribe wants to enlarge its federal trust land in downtown Duluth beyond the casino. Last December, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by the city of Duluth seeking to block casino expansion from the Carter Hotel site. The court said the tribe was not required to get the city’s approval before seeking to enlarge its downtown trust holdings. Diver said the tribe is waiting to hear from the Bureau of Indian Affairs regarding the status of its land-trust application.
