Mayor says casino will expand city's entertainment options
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On a sunny, chilly Wednesday morning, the future of gaming dawned in Grand Island, with the arrival of a casino resort entering the home stretch.
Officials broke ground at Fonner Park for the permanent Grand Island Casino Resort. The $100 million, six-story facility will include a 162-room hotel, a show lounge, 750 slot machines and 20 table games.
A temporary casino opened at Fonner Park in December of 2022.
“We’ve already upgraded the temporary resort by adding table games and a few other amenities. But in the words of Bachman Turner Overdrive, you ain’t seen nothing yet,” Elite Casino Resorts CEO Dan Kehl said Wednesday morning.
Elite Casino Resorts, based in Iowa, is Fonner Park’s partner in the casino industry.
The casino resort, Kehl said, will be “a beautiful world-class entertainment complex loaded with amenities.”
When completed, the casino resort “will be a catalyst, not only for Grand Island but for Fonner and the Nebraska State Fair,” Kehl said. “Together, we are going to grow this entertainment district, and solidify Grand Island as an agricultural capital of the Midwest.”
The hotel will include a full-service salon and spa and an indoor-outdoor pool complex. The show lounge will feature local and regional entertainment. Casual dining will be provided by the Draft Day Sports Lounge and a family dining outlet.
On the top floor will be Ruthie’s Steak & Seafood Restaurant, which offers fine dining. Kehl pointed out that Ruthie’s is “named after our mother and founder, Ruth Kehl.”
The rooftop restaurant will provide a “tremendous view of central Nebraska,” promised Fonner Park CEO Chris Kotulak.
Sen. Ray Aguilar said “it has taken a lot of hard work, dedication and people to get us to the point that we are today.”
With the previous phases of the casino project, “we have already seen an impact on the economy and employment opportunities, with them bringing in approximately 150 new jobs.” The completion of the project will bring in between 150 and 200 more jobs — “not to mention the tourism and revenue it will bring to our area,” Aguilar said.
Once the casino resort is operational, “it will double our employment and it will bring the total employment to this Fonner Park campus to over 700 people,” Kehl said.
That number includes not only casino employees, but all employees on the Fonner Park campus, including the Heartland Events Center and the Nebraska State Fair.
“This resort entertainment complex will create an estimated $75 million in state and local taxes in the first five years of operations,” Kehl said.
Of that, $56 million will go to the state, with $48 million of that amount going toward property tax relief. “Another estimated $9 million will go to Hall County and $11 million to the city of Grand Island,” Kehl said.
That comment earned applause from the audience of more than 100 people, all of whom were bundled up for the outdoor event.
“That’s a pretty substantial amount of money in the first five years,” Kehl said, adding that there will be “more to come after that, obviously. So these dollars will have a ripple effect throughout the state and the community. This will be a way to continue to improve the quality of life and continue to grow Grand Island,” Kehl said.
“Now is the time for the community to think big on what this entertainment district can do for our communities,” Kehl said.
“Grand Island is known as an entertainment mecca,” said Mayor Roger Steele, listing horse racing, the Heartland Events Center and the Nebraska State Fair.
Horse races and other events at Fonner Park attract thousands of visitors.
“And now we will have a new casino resort, operated by family-owned Elite Casino Resorts,” Steele said. “Gus Fonner’s legendary racetrack has operated on these grounds since the 1950s. I doubt Mr. Fonner could have envisioned all of the entertainment options that have now been added to this campus in the last 20 years. These additions including the new casino resort are a remarkable sign of progress for Grand Island.”
Steele said the Kehl family “has an impressive vision of year-round entertainment and splendid lodging. And the Kehl family’s business represents values that we in Grand Island cherish.”
The family supports “building an even stronger community for us,” Steele said.
The Kehl family has “invested in our city, and they invest in the residents of Grand Island, through jobs and opportunity. The Kehl family and their employees are a wonderful addition to our community and I welcome them. They share our vision of growth, jobs and prosperity,” Steele said. “They understand that by working together as a community, we can accomplish great things. I am excited for the Kehl family and for the new casino resort. And I am excited for the benefits that it will bring to Gran Island.”
Shane Greckel, vice chair of the Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission, thanked the commissioners and staff “for doing an outstanding job, helping to create this new industry that we just started four years ago with the vote here in Nebraska.”
Greckel thanked the “tracks and and our operators for being some of the best partners to work with throughout this entire new venture” and thanked the horsemen of Nebraska “for your continued commitment to racing in this great state.”
Racing has a long legacy in Nebraska and “has built a lot of great facilities.” Wednesday’s attendees had the honor of being at one of those facilities, said the Bloomfield resident.
“Today we have the distinct honor of celebrating a new advancement. With the opening of this casino and resort, we look towards the future,” Greckel said.
“Gaming is a new industry in Nebraska — a new industry that’s also left its impact. $12 million in tax receipts have already been through our system, $9 million of which go directly into the Property Tax Credit Relief Fund, helping Nebraskans each and every day with property taxes,” Greckel said.
Greckel said he looks forward to the continued partnership “between racing and the new industry of gaming,” which will help increase economic opportunities in communities, counties and the state.
Cindy Johnson of the Grand Island Chamber of Commerce said entertainment is more than just a break from our daily lives.
“It’s an opportunity for us to gather,” Johnson said. “Entertainment is a driving force for people that transcends ages and backgrounds and beliefs. It brings people together and causes interaction that might not otherwise take place. And Grand Island is the perfect place for those types of interactions.”
When the casino has its grand opening, attendees will celebrate not just the bricks and mortar “but the commitment that Grand Island has to the horsemen, to the community and for those who come here to ensure that this is the place to live, work, visit and play,” Johnson said.
Kotulak said Fonner Park is home to three communities, one of which is the horse community and the people who come to support Fonner Park events.
The second community consists of central Nebraska, which “feeds in to what we offer here.”
The third community comes from beyond central Nebraska. Those people will be attracted by the Camp Augustine project, work going on inside the city and the casino resort, Kotulak said.
“We have already seen new faces here for the last year or two. They need places to live, these people. But they’re here. And we’re waiting for more of them to come,” Kotulak said.
Casino construction is expected to take 15 to 17 months.
The project will be built to the north of the grandstand and clubhouse building. The casino and resort will essentially extend about “half a furlong to the north, from the top of the stretch back towards the clubhouse,” Kotulak said.
Horse racing fans interested in gaming won’t be exposed to the elements.
Kotulak said “there will be a walkway for guests to transition from the casino into the racetrack and vice versa.”
