Gila River Indian Community to build 4th casino near Chandler

A new casino will open on Gila River Indian Community land south of Chandler, the tribe recently announced.

This will be the tribe’s fourth casino, allowed based on Arizona Native American tribes’ newly negotiated tribal compact with the state. Before, the Gila River Indian Community was allowed three casinos, which it operates at Wild Horse Pass and Lone Butte in Chandler and Vee Quiva in Laveen.

The new casino will be on community trust land south of Gilbert Road and Hunt Highway, outside Chandler’s southern border. The casino is expected to open in one and a half to two years.

Gov. Doug Ducey in April signed a historic agreement with Arizona’s tribes, marking the biggest update to gambling in the state in decades. In addition to allowing sports betting, the compact provides for casino expansions and at least four new casinos, including at least two in metro Phoenix.

The new casino will offer all the new games allowed under the revised compact, including new table games and sports betting, a representative of the community indicated. It’s expected to cost more than $100 million and plans could be expanded to add a hotel.

Gila River Indian Community Governor Stephen Roe Lewis said in a statement the tribe has been negotiating for years with the state for an amended compact. He said the fourth casino is “historic news” for the community.

“Adding a 4th casino will bring additional revenue, security, and critical services to Community members. In addition, we anticipate being able to add hundreds of new jobs that Community members can take advantage of, and we expect that many of those will be filled by Community members.”

The casino is expected to create approximately 1,000 jobs once it’s up and running.

The tribe’s Community Council on June 18 approved the casino project, including a budget for its design and construction.

The Gila River Indian Community reservation covers nearly 600 square miles south of Phoenix, stretching from the southeast Valley and parts of Pinal County into the Laveen area of the southwest Valley.

When Ducey signed the compact amendment in mid-April, Lewis had said the tribe didn’t yet know where or when its fourth casino would open.

“This is something that has to be definitely studied,” he said at the time. “We want to grow the market, but we want to grow it responsibly.”

Another newly allowed metro area casino could be built by the Tohono O’odham Nation near Loop 303 and Northern Parkway in the West Valley.

Chandler officials have heard from nearly 30 residents concerned about potential impacts of the new casino near their homes, city spokesman Matt Burdick said in an email to The Arizona Republic. Current developments nearby are residential neighborhoods and golf courses.

Burdick said the city has no jurisdiction over this issue and will not be involved in any casino plan review or approval. But, he said, the city can communicate residents’ concerns and city development plans so the tribe can make “informed decisions” about the site, he wrote.

The city has no plans to expand Gilbert Road or Hunt Highway.

A representative of the tribal community said they will be reaching out to the local community to address concerns such as traffic and to make sure they are being a good neighbor.

This same area was previously considered for one of the tribe’s other casinos, said Chandler Councilmember Matt Orlando, who recalled conversations from when he was on the council at the time. He said there were infrastructure issues and neighborhood opposition, so the tribe decided in 2007 to build Lone Butte Casino by the Loop 202 instead.

Orlando said the key will be working with the tribe to have an open dialogue so the city can express any concerns it’s hearing from nearby residents and have a sense of long-term plans for the area.

Chandler Vice Mayor Mark Stewart said the city has an “impeccable” relationship with the tribe and that they are “great neighbors,” partnering with Chandler on things from water to a veterans memorial.

“Anything that they do with business or with entertainment, things like that, is usually good for Chandler. It just gives us more options,” he said.

Stewart says he doesn’t know much about the plans yet but thinks the tribe will work with the city to minimize impacts on traffic and nearby neighborhoods so the casino fits the area.

“They’re really impactful to our community as a whole so we’re just happy that we’re part of the community with them,” Stewart said.