On Tuesday, metropolis officers in Cedar Rapids signed off on a bunch settlement for a potential on line casino resort.
A rendering of the proposed Cedar Crossing On line casino in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. This week, metropolis officers in Cedar Rapids authorized a bunch settlement with the event group behind the venture. (Picture: Cedar Rapids Growth Group)
The Cedar Rapids Metropolis Council voted 8-1 in favor of a decision that executes town’s On line casino Growth Settlement with two entities referred to as the Cedar Rapids Growth Group (CRDG) and its charitable arm, the Linn County Gaming Affiliation. The pact grants town’s unique help for the creation of a on line casino improvement, with CRDG being the city’s designated associate.
Ought to the Iowa Racing and Gaming Fee (IRGC) grant a on line casino license for Cedar Rapids, CRDG will buy roughly 25 acres of city-owned land simply west of the Cedar River between I and F avenues at truthful market worth. The phrases require that 2.25% of the on line casino’s gross gaming income go to Cedar Rapids’ coffers.
The native tax share is along with the 8% of web gaming proceeds that CRDG has pledged to the Linn County Gaming Affiliation, which in flip will direct the funds to close by charitable causes and initiatives. The on line casino could be additional taxed by the state, which takes 22% of riverboat and land-based casinos’ annual GGR.
The host settlement moreover requires CRDP to pay for flood mitigation measures, conduct a site visitors research, and pay for any wanted web site enhancements.
Majority Help
Seven of the eight Cedar Rapids Metropolis Council members spoke in help of bringing a on line casino to the state’s second most populated metropolis. The $275 million venture referred to as Cedar Crossing On line casino additionally obtained the help of Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell.
We’re happy to have the continued help of the Cedar Rapids Metropolis Council, which has taken the following step to make Cedar Crossing a actuality,” stated CRDG President Jonathan Swain. “Cedar Crossing can be a transformative addition to the area by offering premier leisure choices, creating financial alternatives and offering the area with unprecedented nonprofit help.”
Cedar Rapids Councilor Ashley Vanorny was the lone dissenting vote in opposition to the On line casino Growth Settlement. A healthcare skilled by day, Vanorny stated the on line casino’s plans to permit indoor tobacco smoking pressured her nay vote.
CRDG consists of about 80 native traders who for greater than a decade have been in search of to safe a gaming concession from the state. The IRGC denied gaming functions for Cedar Rapids in 2014 and 2017 as a consequence of market saturation issues.
Iowa lawmakers later handed a two-year moratorium on permitting the IRGC to situation further gaming licenses. The moratorium expired on July 1, 2024.
CRDG is working with Peninsula Pacific Leisure. Swain is a board member of the Los Angeles-based gaming developer and operator.
The IRGC is presently reviewing market feasibility research on permitting a on line casino in Cedar Rapids. The state’s 19 different casinos predominantly oppose the Cedar Crossing On line casino effort on issues that it’s going to poach play.
Cedar Crossing is a proposed 110K-square-foot facility with 39K sq. ft of gaming, 17K sq. ft of restaurant area, 16K sq. ft of occasion area, and a 5,000-square-foot cultural heart and kids’s STEM lab.
The IRGC is predicted to vote on the Cedar Rapids on line casino bid on Feb. 6, 2025.
Authorized Problem
Elite On line casino Resorts, which owns Riverside On line casino & Golf Resort and would probably be most impacted by a on line casino in Cedar Rapids, is difficult whether or not playing may even happen within the metropolis.
Cedar Rapids held two profitable native poll referendums in help of a on line casino in 2013 and 2021. The vote three years in the past completely licensed slot machines, desk video games, and sports activities betting in Linn County ought to the IRGC allow a license there.
Elite’s attorneys allege the 2021 referendum solely requested voters in the event that they wished to permit the “operation of playing video games … to proceed.” Since there have been no on line casino video games to “proceed,” the authorized criticism contends that the referendum ratified nothing.
“There have been no video games that the voters may authorize to ‘proceed,’” the petition for declaratory aid learn. The IRGC is reviewing the petition in session with state attorneys.
