The Ho-Chunk Nation wants to build a state-of-the-art sports and entertainment complex on 48 acres adjacent to its Ho-Chunk Gaming Madison casino in Wisconsin. The complex would include indoor and outdoor playing fields, a hotel, cultural center and conference center. Dan Brown, executive manager of Ho-Chunk Gaming Madison, said the tribe would like to open the first phase in 2018.
Brown hired Urban Assets, a Madison planning and community development firm, to determine the most suitable type of development for the city and the tribe. “We considered building a big-box retail store, an industrial park and even a corporate headquarters,” he said, adding the tribe wanted the project to be a unique, regional destination where visitors also could learn about the heritage of Madison’s native inhabitants. “We aren’t just a casino on the outskirts of town. This is our homeland and we have a bigger story to tell,” Brown said.
Tribal and city officials have been holding monthly talks about the sports complex project, Brown said, and Ho-Chunk architects are drafting a master conceptual plan. However, Madison Parks Superintendent Eric Knepp said the city is lagging in that area. “The city is a little more guarded. We don’t say ‘yes’ to doing something until we have a solid master plan coming from our side. We are committed to working with the Ho-Chunk tribe because that’s what good neighbors do, as we have a mutual interest in a successful gateway to the city. But we really haven’t talked money yet, the heavy lift, and getting to that point will be when the real commitment comes from the city,” Knepp said.
Brown stated, according to preliminary plans, indoor fields would be built on Ho-Chunk land and 12 contiguous outdoor fields would be constructed on part of the city-owned 36-hole Yahara Hills Golf Course next to the proposed site. “The city will have to make a decision on whether they want to surrender some of the holes for the project. We would not necessarily pursue the sports complex portion of the project unless we get a full commitment from the city to build the adjacent outdoor fields,” Brown said.
A decade ago, the city and the Ho-Chunk tribe were at odds over the proposed expansion of Ho-Chunk gaming operations. “There are some hangover perceptions about gaming that came up when we were presenting to the parks commission. We just need to do some educating about how gaming fits into the nation and all tribes, and what its role is,” said certified planner Melissa Huggins, principal at Urban Assets who conducted the initial in-depth feasibility study.
Noted Brown, “We have two governments trying to work together, so we don’t expect this to happen overnight. I hesitate to use the word ‘perfect,’ but it sure is coming together nicely.”
