LANSING, MI-Mayor Virg Bernero said in his State of the City addressed Monday night that the controversial $245 million casino, proposed for land adjacent to the struggling Lansing Center, is a good bet for the city because it would provide a free college ride for area students. About $6 million in annual revenue from the Sault Tribe’s Kewadin Lansing Casino would be set aside to guarantee four-year scholarships for full-time graduates of the Lansing School District.
He said the program would be modeled after the Kalamazoo Promise, a privately-funded endeavor that provides four-year college scholarships to any Kalamazoo student who attends the district for their entire schooling. “The Promise resulted in a 20% enrollment increase in the Kalamazoo Public Schools,” he said during his speech. “We've always known that a city is only as good as its schools, and good schools have a catalytic effect by bringing families back into the city and uplifting our neighborhoods,” he said.
The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, which operates five other Kewadin casinos it the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, would build and run the Lansing casino, likely with an adjoining hotel. If the casino is approved by the federal government, the tribe has said it would open a temporary gaming facility in the city until the full project is open.
The casino plan has been criticized because there is no Indian reservation in or near Lansing; the city would be acquiring a license by shifting land rights to pay for the 125,000-square-foot casino. While the majority of the opposition comes from the supporters of other casinos in Detroit, Mt. Pleasant and Battle Creek, they also point out that it’s a long shot that tribe would be allowed to run a tribal casino on non-Indian land.
Bernero, however, is not deterred, and has said that construction could begin in 2014. “We will continue to jump hurdles that others throw up, pick up the pace when others slow down and dream big dreams while others scale back,” he said during his speech Monday night.
Sault Tribe Chairman Joe Eitrem said in a statement that the tribe is ready to partner with Bernero on the project. “We have found in Mayor Bernero and his team people who are committed to developing a first-class gaming facility in a spirit of mutual respect and cooperation,” Eitrem said. “They sincerely want jobs and opportunities for their citizens and students just as we seek to provide jobs, services and a better future to our tribal members through gaming.”
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