The Seneca Nation this past week laid the final steel beam in place for its million, 60,000-square-foot expansion of its successful Buffalo Creek Casino in downtown Buffalo.
The expansion is on schedule to be completed early next year, and Seneca Gaming Chairman Barry Snyder says the casino has been a great success for the local economy, as well as the tribe.
Before the tribe opened its casino in downtown Buffalo, the Snyder says there was nothing in the city’s Inner Harbor area, not even any buildings.
Now, the casino and other businesses annually draw more than 3 million visitors, and the casino expansion is adding space for restaurants, retail stores, and entertainment, as well as more gaming space.
The casino will have more than 300 new slots, and the new amenities offer a range of non-gaming recreational opportunities.
The $40 million project also increases Seneca Gaming’s stake in the local economy to some $200 million, and Seneca Nation President Maurice John says that shows the tribe’s commitment to the local economy.
Instead of asking for financial help, it undertook its own economic revival that is paying off handsomely through additional economic investment in other developments that never would have happened without the Seneca Nation and the Buffalo Creek Casino kick-starting it all.
Once the expansion is completed next spring, there’ll be many more direct and related jobs coming, and yet more revenue for Buffalo’s Inner Harbor area.
Meanwhile, in a unanimous vote, the city council of Niagara Falls, New York recently asked Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s office to halt further construction on the Seneca Nation’s upscale gas and electric refueling station and convenience store. Land already has been cleared for the facility on Seneca Nation land on Niagara Street. Other area businesses said the “energy station” possibly could gain a competitive advantage by offering untaxed gasoline and cigarettes.
Niagara Falls Mayor Paul A. Dyster said the council sent letter to Cuomo’s office in March, because the state, not the city, oversees protecting the interest of the local municipality, according to the Nation-State Gaming Compact.
In response, state Special Assistant Counsel Robert Williams said, “The sites in Niagara Falls and Buffalo shall be utilized for gaming and commercial activities traditionally associated with the operation and conduct of a casino facility.” Williams noted Cuomo said tribe’s proposals to develop casino facilities suggested a convenience store and/or gas station was included.
The Seneca Nation also proposed developing a gas station at the site in 2012. At the time, Niagara Falls officials also sent a letter to Cuomo, who responded the proposal did not comply with the Nation-State Gaming Compact, and the tribe withdrew its plans.
Previously, Seneca Nation President Maurice John Sr. said the current project complies with “the sovereign rights as recognized by the federal government” and called it a means for developing the Niagara Street corridor.
