On February 19, a ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the opening of the new Desert Diamond Casino West Valley in Glendale, Arizona.
A project of the Tohono O’odham Nation, the $400 million, 1.2 million square-foot facility features more than 1,100 slot machines, 36 poker tables, and 48 blackjack tables, as well as five dining venues and a VIP lounge. The new facility replaces the interim casino, which had been operating since December 2015.
“This has been a long time coming,” Treena Parvello, the nation’s director of government relations and communications, told the Glendale Star. “We’re excited to finally unveil the next phase for this unique amenity in the West Valley, which is creating jobs and opportunities. This would not have been possible without the leadership of the Tohono O’odham Nation, and the guidance of the Enterprise Management Board.”
Glendale Councilman Ian Hugh called the Tohono O’odham “a nation within our borders” and saluted the “great relationship” enjoyed by the local and tribal governments. “We now have the largest casino in the state,” he said. “It’s going to bring in thousands and thousands of people,” as well as revenues for the municipality. The Tohono O’odham Nation “offered us $1 million dollars a year” to site the casino there, he said.
Desert Diamond Casino West Valley is just north of the Westgate Entertainment District, Gila River Arena and State Farm Stadium, and “ties in perfectly with the sports and entertainment district,” Hugh added. Beyond the monetary infusion, the casino draws tourism to the area. “I can’t keep track of all the hotels lining up to come here,” he said.
Ironically, Glendale fought the casino for many years, along with most of the tribes located in the Phoenix area. The Tohono O’odham, with its principal reservation located outside of Tucson, claimed the Glendale land as part of its heritage reservation, and spent much time and effort to establish its legality.
The Tohono O’odham Gaming Enterprise owns and operates four Desert Diamond Casinos & Entertainment locations in Southern Arizona—in West Valley, Tucson, Sahuarita, and Why. The new casino, located near Glendale’s sports and entertainment district, replaces a nearby temporary casino that opened in 2015 and offered slot machines but no table games, Native Business magazine reported. The temporary site employed 800 people; the new casino could employee up to 2,000.
The nearby city of Peoria also welcomed the new casino. “These large-scale attractions bring more people to the area, which In turn creates a positive economic environment for surrounding businesses,” said Rick Buss, Peoria’s director of economic development. “Although Peoria has not done a specific economic impact study on this project, we know prominent destination development will bring strong economic derivatives to the area and region. Peoria is happy to see the casino is enjoying great success in the West Valley.”
Preliminary plans for future phases of construction are already under way, said Smith, and include additional amenities such as a hotel, spa and convention center.
In 2018, the Tohono O’odham Nation purchased nearly 11 acres owned by the city near the casino property. “We purchased over 54 acres to build a casino, and also purchased 88 acres for future economic development,” said Nation Chairman Edward Manuel at the time. “This purchase makes our land complete for future development.”
Sintra Hoffman, president and CEO of the Western Maricopa Coalition, known as Westmarc, thanked nation leaders for their “commitment, dedication and tenacity.”
“From an economic development perspective, the Desert Diamond West Valley Casino just added an incredible amenity to the region that will also serve as a business attraction asset,” Hoffman said.
She said business is booming in Glendale, which she called “a great place to build a business. Fifty-five percent of growth in Maricopa County will be right here in the West Valley. We have our workforce, very talented. We have disposable income that continues to rise.”
The opening of Desert Diamond, she said, “will be taking entertainment to the next level.”
