The Tule River Indian Tribe, in Central California, would like to relocate its Eagle Mountain Casino and build a 0 million version of it just west of the Porterville Municipal Airport on 40 acres the tribe has owned for about 25 years.
The multi-story 105,000-square foot casino would have a 250-room hotel, convention center, entertainment center and meeting facility. It would be the most ambitious project yet proposed for Tulare County. The number of slots would increase from 1,200 to 1,750 and number of gaming tables from 11 to 20.
To do this the tribe of nearly 1,850 members must obtain permission from the Bureau of Indian Affairs to put the land into trust. It must follow several steps, the most recent of which was to run a legal notice of the intent to prepare an environmental impact statement. The comment period for that document expires on January 30 and a scoping meeting will be held on January 23. This will be followed by the environmental review process, which could take up to six months, according to Ralene Clower, executive director of the Tule river Tribe Gaming Commission.
The tribe, county and city of Porterville are working together on the project. They hope to open the casino in 2019 or 2020.
Meanwhile the tribe in negotiations with Governor Jerry Brown for a renewed tribal state gaming compact. The existing compact expires in 2021.
Eagle Mountain Casino is nearing its 20th anniversary, although the tribe has wanted to move it for nearly all of that time. The lack of water at the current site is the main driver behind the move. It is has also caused a new home building moratorium on the reservation. The proposed site would be able to tap into reclaimed water.
