Lac Courte Oreilles Band acquires golf course as complement to casino

Wednesday, April 10, 2019  

The Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians has acquired a golf course near its casino in Wisconsin.

The tribe paid $1.1 million for the Big Fish Golf Club in Hayward, The Sawyer County Record reported. The facility sits on 173 acres adjacent to the reservation and the Sevenwinds Casino.

“It serves to be a strong amenity for the casino and it is an opportunity to create more jobs for our tribal membership,” Vice Chairman Jason Schlender told the paper.

Schlender is also serving as chair of the golf club's new board of directors, an April 1 story in the tribe's newspaper stated. The casino will serve as the manager of operations at the course, according to the report.

“We assert our tribal sovereignty by owning a golf course and making an economic impact on our neighbors here in Sawyer County,” Schlender said in the story, a followup to a March 19 announcement of the purchase.

The course plans a grand reopening on May 11, the tribe's newspaper reported.

Tribe’s purchase of Big Fish creates many possibilities (The Sawyer County Record April 10, 2019)