By Alex Gary - June 19th 2024
BELOIT
The Rock County Board has extended an intergovernmental agreement with the Ho-Chunk nation relating to the planned casino and resort complex in Beloit.
The City of Beloit already had extended the intergovernmental agreement with the Ho-Chunk in May. The agreement was extended until the end of the year.
Last Thursday, the Rock County Board voted 27-1 to extend a 2012 intergovernmental agreement until the end of 2024. The agreement deals with land use, taxation and financial exchanges between the three parties involved in the agreement.
Collin Price, a consultant for the Ho-Chunk Nation, said the final agreement will include details not in the original IGA. He said an amended agreement could be complete by the end of the summer.
“Road access, ingress, egress, storm water plans, working with the fire department over their concerns with the height of the hotel,” Price said. “Now that we’re getting ready to break ground, those are the little details that have to be decided.”
The three sides originally struck a deal in 2012 and had extended it three times as the project sat dormant. It finally expired in 2022, but now it has been reinstated until the end of 2024.
Both Beloit and Rock County will be paid a portion of the winnings from the casino each year, according to the agreement. That could be between $3 million and $5 million annually.
Various groups have been working on a casino for Beloit since the 1990s. In 2009, the Ho Chunk Nation bought 30 acres of land where the St. Croix and Bad River Ojibwe bands wanted to build a casino.
In 2021, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers approved the Beloit Casino project. In 2022, the Bureau of Indian Affairs approved placing 33 acres of the 73.5-acres now owned by Ho-Chunk into trust. The land is near the corner of Willowbrook and Colley roads near Interstate 90 and the Wisconsin/Illinois state line.
Ho-Chunk officials said in May that they expect to break ground in the fall. The $405 million project will include the casino, restaurants, a convention center and an 18-story hotel. The hotel building will be the tallest building in Rock County. The project, to be located near the corner of Willowbrook and Colley Roads, is expected to add 1,500 jobs to Beloit, making it the city’s largest employer. It is expected the construction will take about 18 months.
Price said the nearly unanimous vote with Rock County shows that all sides remain committed to seeing the casino open. Ho-Chunk currently operates six casinos in Wisconsin — Black River Falls, Madison, Nekoosa, Tomah, Wisconsin Dells and Wittenberg.
“It just solidifies and shows that our communities and efforts are aligned to getting this through the finish line,” Price said.