Kings Mountain Catawba Casino

Just before coronavirus began dominating the news cycle last month, the U.S. Department of the Interior approved a proposal from the Catawba Indian Nation to build a casino complex on 16.57 acres in Kings Mountain.

“The Nation is very thankful for the Department’s decision to take this land into trust, enabling us to achieve the promise of self-determination though economic development,” said Catawba Chief William Harris in a statement.

At issue: the Catawba Two Kings Casino Resort, a proposed $273 million, 17-acre project in Cleveland County. The Catawba Indian Nation has been working for seven years to make the resort a reality. It plans gaming tables, 1,300 electronic game machines as well as restaurants, which it says will economically benefit the tribe and the area. KINGS MOUNTAIN, N.C. (WBTV) - The Catawba Indian Nation will present, on Friday, plans and renderings of the new destination casino planned for a site in Kings Mountain, N.C. As a result of the recent U.S. Department of the Interior’s decision, land in Kings Mountain will be taken into trust so the Catawba Indian Nation can move forward with. Another step is being taken for the Catawba Two Kings Casino Resort project in Kings Mountain, this time with the potential rezoning of surrounding land for development. On Tuesday evening, the. After years of on-again, off-again efforts, the Catawba Indians plan to break ground Wednesday on a nearly $300 million casino 35 miles from Charlotte in Kings Mountain. The Catawba Two Kings Casino Resort draws its name from Catawba Chief King Hagler. During his leadership in the mid-1700s, he allied his nation with the American colonists who revolted against the British at the time of the Revolutionary War.

According to plans, the entertainment facility will cost $273 million.

Timeline: The tribe has not provided an exact target grand opening date, but it’ll be in several years. Once plans are finalized, construction is estimated to take well over a year. “We will share the timeline as quickly as possible, but do plan to have the casino opening as quickly as possible,” says Elizabeth Harris, a Catawba Indian Nation representative.

It’s unclear how the coronavirus outbreak will impact the planning or construction timeline. Last month, the Catawbas said all tribal meetings and events would be canceled through at least April 30.

Details:Proposed plans call for a 195,000-square-foot mixed use development with over 75,000 square feet of gaming space. The casino will have 1,796 slots, 54 table games, and a player’s club, along with restaurants and bars with a total of 940 seats. It’ll be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It’s not yet clear whether or not there will be a sports book.

“In order to have those types of games we have to negotiate a gaming compact with the North Carolina Governor’s office,” Elizabeth Harris tells the Agenda. “We plan to begin working with them on getting a compact in place.”

Location: The new casino will be in Kings Mountain, right off of Interstate 85 at Dixon School Road. It’s 35 miles from Uptown. Plans for the project call for about 1,110 surface-level parking spaces and a five-story parking deck, which will have 1,020 spaces.

Neighboring business: “We think this is going to be very positive for all businesses in the area,” says Monique Sullivan founder of Veronét Vineyards & Winery, which is just a few miles away from the casino site.

“We really love how our vineyard is a great day trip and escape for people from Charlotte, and so many hikers from Crowders are coming out to enjoy nature with a morning hike and then spending the afternoon with us. Now when you add the casino, we think it’s going to contribute a lot of momentum to the area.”

(Veronét temporarily closed its doors on March 17, in compliance with the state’s stay at home order.)

Renderings courtesy of Catawba Indian Nation and Delaware North

RALEIGH — On March 12, the Catawba Indian Nation held a press conference to present renderings and construction plans for a new destination casino on a site in Kings Mountain, North Carolina.

According to a press release, the U.S. Department of the Interior has taken the land in question into trust and, as a result, the Catawba Indian Nation can now move forward with the proposed project.

“The Nation is very thankful for the Department’s decision to take this land into trust, enabling us to achieve the promise of self-determination though economic development,” said Chief Harris in a statement.

“The Department has a very rigorous process for reviewing proposed trust land acquisitions. We are very thankful for the hard work of the Department’s solicitors and staff on our application, who carefully reviewed our history, including our historic land settlement, ensuring that it is consistent with the Supreme Court’s Carcieri decision,” Harris said.

The proposed destination casino and resort is projected to bring as many as 5,000 construction jobs and 4,000 permanent jobs to the King’s Mountain area. Supporters of the casino estimate it will bring $350 million in potential revenue to the town, which is located just 35 miles west of Charlotte.

The Catawba Indian Nation statement said that the tribe plans to “begin working closely with Gov. Cooper’s office so that the state of North Carolina can also benefit from the project in Kings Mountain.”

The proposed casino project, which was first discussed during tribal meetings in 2013, now is expected to include a $600 million 220,000-square-foot casino complex with an estimated 1,796 electronic gaming devices and 54 table games. There is a plan for a 1,500-room hotel, as well as restaurants, shopping and a full-sized concert and event venue.

The Catawba Indians are located in South Carolina, but claim tribal lands that extend north into the area of the casino project near King’s Mountain. The project has been met with strong opposition from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians located in North Carolina, which operate casinos further to the west of King’s Mountain.

The Catawba River is named after the tribe and originates in Western North Carolina. The word “catawba” means “the people of the river” in their Siouan language. The tribe’s name is also referenced in Catawba County, a foothills county whose county seat is Hickory. Catawba College, now located in Salisbury, was founded in Newton, a town in Catawba County.

The federal government terminated recognition of the tribe in 1959. In 1973, the Catawba Indian Nation reorganized and began the process of reestablishing federal recognition. In 1993, the federal government recognized the Catawba nation and paid, along with the state of South Carolina, a $50 million settlement for land claims.

The Eastern Band is promising to sue the U.S. government for “its illegal and corrupt decision” to allow Catawba casino to go forward.

In a press release, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians claim that the government is ignoring federal laws that prohibit the “Catawba Indian Tribe of South Carolina” from tribal government gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

“The federal government has no right or authority to create a new reservation for the Catawba Nation across state lines, into Cherokee historical territory, just to build a casino,” Chief Richard Sneed said in a statement.

The statement also says that the Bureau of Indian Affairs also has yet to consult with the Cherokee on protection measures and that a possibility exists of archaeological artifacts and resources being discovered during construction on the proposed casino site.

“This decision creates a dangerous precedent for all federally recognized tribes that empowers corrupt developers and their lobbyists to use politicians to determine what laws and precedents are followed and which ones are ignored. This decision cannot and will not stand,” said Sneed.

The Cherokees operate two casinos west of King’s Mountain: Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort, which is 130 miles away; and Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River Casino and Hotel, around 190 miles away. The Catawba casino would be located just 35 miles from Charlotte.

The casino project also drew harsh criticism in early 2019 from North Carolina state lawmakers after North Carolina’s two U.S. senators, Republicans Richard Burr and Thom Tillis, signed on as primary sponsors of a bill introduced by South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham.

U.S. Senate Bill 790, which has had no activity since being introduced in March of 2019, would have authorized the U.S. Department of the Interior to allow the South Carolina Catawba Nation to obtain around 16 acres near Kings Mountain in North Carolina for its proposed casino complex. With the Department of the Interior now taking the land into trust, the bill has been rendered unnecessary.

Thirty-eight N.C. state lawmakers signed a letter opposing the casino project bill. The letter dated May 16, was sent to the chairman and vice chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and called Senate Bill 790 an “unprecedented overreach.”

The letter to the committee also said if the project was allowed to go forward it would “encroach upon Cherokee aboriginal territory defined in the Cherokee Treaty 1777 map.” The letter also said it would “deal an economic blow to a region of the state that depends on this industry and the thousands of jobs it provides annually.”

Kings Mountain Nc Catawba Casino

At the time, Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Eden) said “This bill that was introduced by a South Carolina senator to allow property in North Carolina to be given to a South Carolina tribe is something that I would hope our representatives would fight.”

Kings Mountain Catawba Casino North Carolina

House Speaker Tim Moore, a Republican from Kings Mountain, took no position on the bill last year, despite it being proposed for his town.