A proposed local agreement between the Menominee Nation and the city of Kenosha to open a tribal casino and entertainment complex is scheduled for a Wednesday night.
The proposed site of the 60 acre gaming hall, hotel, ballroom and restaurant complex would be just north of State Highway 50 and west of I-94. It's a prime location for a business to be seen. Tens of thousands of vehicles on the interstate pass by every day.
The Menominee would own the complex. The Wisconsin tribe, based west of Green Bay, has an agreement with Hard Rock International, owned by the Seminole Tribe of Florida, to develop and manage the off-reservation property. The Kenosha casino would be about halfway between a non-tribal casino in Waukegan, IL., and the Forest County Potawatomi gaming facility in Milwaukee.
Joey Awonohopay chairs the Menominee-Kenosha Gaming Authority. He told WUWM that he acknowledges the nearby competition for gamblers.
"But, the question is, do they carry the entertainment and the excitement as well as Hard Rock does? And the answer to that is, no, they do not," Awonohopay says.
Gaming Authority Vice-chair Gary Besaw says the proposed ballroom, restaurants and hotel would also be perfect for weddings, corporate retreats and other events.
"We want to bring this quality to the Kenosha area, where people do not have to travel as far and still have not only as good as but better, in my mind, quality of service and entertainment available. So, we're looking at enhancing what can happen in the Kenosha area," Besaw says.
The Menominee and their partners are promising about $10 million per year in payments to Kenosha and Kenosha County after the complex would open.
But there is local opposition to the Menominee proposal. City resident John Bush recently discussed his concerns when we met at the downtown Kenosha coffee shop: Anna's on the Lake. He tells WUWM the gaming payments might have been needed when there was first talk of a Kenosha area casino decades ago. But Bush says not now.
"It's not the 1990's anymore. And our community is quite strong as it is. I think we would find there are a lot of businesses who are currently interested in moving to Kenosha. Why would we wreck a great thing that's already happening here? Why would we take three steps backward when we have the chance to take fifteen forward?" Bush asks.
Bush says he also worries the casino would increase costs for local law enforcement, as well as bring higher chances of gambling addiction — concerns the Menominee say they've already addressed with local officials.
There is also citizen support for the Menominee and Hard Rock project.
"Anything new and different. I mean if it's gonna work, it'll work. If it's gonna fail, it's gonna fail, like the dog track failed. Anything that brings something new to Kenosha — it's sort of sleepy, " says Kenosha County resident Alan Holverson.
The dog track, known as Dairyland Greyhound Park did shut down 15 years ago. Recently, the Forest County Potawatomi—teaming with Milwaukee's Zilber Property Group — broke ground on a project to re-develop those 240 acres into a mixed-use site including offices, retail, and multi-family housing.
The Potawatomi declined comment to WUWM on the Menominee gaming proposal. But the Milwaukee JournalSentinel, citing unnamed sources, say the Potawatomi now plan to build a new music venue outside its Milwaukee gaming hall.
If the Kenosha Common Council approves the intergovernmental agreement with the Menominee Wednesday night, the plan will go to the Kenosha County Board later this month.
If there are local approvals, the Menominee and Hard Rock project would still need the go-ahead from Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers and land trust approval from the federal government.
