UPPER LAKE, CA-Running Creek Casino, a 33,000-square-foot casino here that is an enterprise of the Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake, has opened. Running Creek's official grand opening is set for this Friday, but the Tribe and project management team made the decision in response to popular demand to open the casino on May 25, just in time for the Memorial Day holiday weekend. The long-awaited casino, which houses 349 slot machines and six popular table games, was built by Kitchell in an innovative Sprung structure at 635 E. Highway 20 in a region that has long been a mecca for campers, hikers, nature lovers and water-sports enthusiasts.
“The high-performance fabric and reliability of Sprung structures make them an ideal solution for many gaming and entertainment enterprises, and we’re seeing more interest in them,” says Brad Gabel, VP of Kitchell’s Native American division. “They can handle high capacity, accommodate multiple uses and are less expensive than traditional building while maintaining a high aesthetic standard.”
The casino construction project began in 2004 and was approved by the state Department of the Interior in August 2011, as well as through a state compact signed in March 2011 by Governor Jerry Brown.
“The Tribe could not be more pleased about the new jobs we have created in our community through this project and the positive economic impact Running Creek will provide for area businesses,” says tribal chairperson Sherry Treppa.
A spokesperson for the tribe tells GlobeSt.com that the total construction cost for the project was $8.9 million, although the overall cost was significantly more than that, and that 160 jobs—38 supervisory and 122 front-line staff—were created by the casino, 54 of them given to tribal members.
In addition to gaming, the casino features the Hot Springs Express restaurant, another 65-seat full-service restaurant with patio dining called Wildfire, a full-service bar and other amenities including a player’s club and multiple meeting rooms.
Kitchell is not new to innovative processes. As GlobeSt.com recently reported, in April the company broke ground on the 500,000-square-foot UC San Diego Jacobs Medical Center at 9310 Campus Point Dr. in La Jolla, CA, the construction of which is being managed via a modified project-delivery method that includes a board of directors overseeing the project with six distinct teams reporting to it. At that time, GlobeSt.com learned that UCSD’s version of integrated project delivery, known as the High Performance Team, includes a board consisting of the key owner, architect and contractor representatives.
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Carrie Rossenfeld
Carrie Rossenfeld is a reporter for the San Diego and Orange County markets on GlobeSt.com and a contributor to Real Estate Forum. She was a trade-magazine and newsletter editor in New York City before moving to Southern California to become a freelance writer and editor for magazines, books and websites. Rossenfeld has written extensively on topics including commercial real estate, running a medical practice, intellectual-property licensing and giftware. She has edited books about profiting from real estate and has ghostwritten a book about starting a home-based business.
