Wilton Rancheria picks alternative site for gaming development

Friday, June 10, 2016

Artist's rendering of a proposed Wilton Rancheria casino in Sacramento County, California. Image from Wilton EIS

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The Wilton Rancheria has selected an alternative site for its proposed casino in northern California.

The tribe originally planned the casino at a 282-acre site in Galt. But infrastructure costs proved "insurmountable," Chairman Raymond C. Hitchcock said in a press release.

So the tribe is going with a 35-acre parcel in Elk Grove. The site has already been identified as an alternative in the environmental impact statement for the project.

"This is an important milestone for the members of Wilton Rancheria, the community of Elk Grove, and the region’s economy,” Hitchcock said. “The resort and casino project will generate approximately 2,000 direct jobs, provide annual revenue for vital services such as police, fire, roads and schools, and support other community needs.”

The tribe entered into an option agreement with the Howard Hughes Corporation for the 35 acres. The developer will continue to build an outlet mall on the surrounding property.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs released the draft EIS in December and hosted a public meeting in January. The next step would be a final EIS.

Get the Story:
Plans for $400M casino move forward in Elk Grove (KCRA 6/10)
Wilton Rancheria chooses Elk Grove site for resort, casino (The Sacramento Bee 6/10)
Wilton tribe chooses Elk Grove location for $400 million casino resort project (The Sacramento Business Journal 6/9)
Sacramento County seeks to fund mitigating casino-related impacts (The Galt Herald 6/8)

Federal Register Notices:
Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Wilton Rancheria Fee-to-Trust and Casino Project, Sacramento County, California (December 29, 2015)
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Wilton Rancheria Fee-to-Trust and Casino Project, Sacramento County, California (December 4, 2013)