b'PROJECT PROFILEaccommodate a local winter leaguespace, an 18,000-square-foot ballroom, with about 160 adult teams as well asas well as a 9,000-square-foot outdoor FULL SPEED AHEAD corporate tournaments. patio, swimming pool, waterslides and hot tub. River Cree is currently rated The River Cree Resort and CasinoThe facility is an integral part of theat four stars, but the expansion is expansion is the first of many projectsbroader community and an importantexpected to boost its standing. What on Enoch Cree Nation aimed atcomponent of the tourism offering inwe are building now is definite luxury, developing the Nation to its fullthe Edmonton area. For its part, the cityMahajan says.potential and maximizing revenue.says it values its relations with the resort Other projects include infrastructureand Enoch Cree Nation as a whole.The casino part of the project has not upgrades such as a 200-acre, billion- We are committed to a collaborative,yet broken ground, however plans dollar roadway, water and sewerneighbour-to-neighbour relationshipinclude the addition of 25,000 to development that is scheduled towith Enoch Cree Nation, says a City of30,000 square feet that will provide begin in early 2025.Edmonton spokesperson. Since 2017,for more slots, games and possibly the city has had a Memorandum ofa retail sports book. Currently, says Understanding with Enoch, which is aMahajan, there are eight casinos in As well, an outdoor driving range,long-term agreement to work togetherthe Edmonton market and 29 in the outlet shopping mall and thermal spaand identify joint opportunities forprovince. We have a lot more ameni-are also under consideration. Thesemutual benefit in a wide range of areas. ties than anyone else. With our Vegas-and other large-scale projects spellstyle casino and integrated resort, we out a bright and strong economicIMPRESSIVE EXPANSION are amongst the best casinos in Canada, future for the Nation. Says ChaseThe expansion now underway will addas weve been named many times in Morin, CEO of River Cree Enterprisesan 18-storey hotel addition with 240many publications.Limited Partnership: The casinohotel rooms, of which more than 30 expansion got a lot of press, butwill be luxury suites. There will be anEnoch Cree Nation members have youre going to see Enoch in fulladditional 40,000 square feet of eventbeen part of the massive expansion expansion mode for the next15 to 20 years.Themuch-neededdevelopment project aims to help the resort and casino meet the needs of a growing number of visitors. We are expanding because we have a lot more demand than we can keep up with, explains Vik Mahajan, CEO of River Cree Resort and Casino. Our biggest feeder market is Indigenous groups who come to visit us from across the province and beyond, and conferences and other special events round out the visitor roster.Althoughthefacilityisnowfully managed and run by the Enoch Cree Nation, it didnt start that way. When the casino first opened, it was run in part-nership with Paragon Gaming, while the hotel was run by Marriott. However Enoch Cree Nation bought out Paragon in 2014 and took over the management of the hotel in 2018.The hotel currently has 249 hotel rooms, 25,000 square feet of confer-ence space, a 2,400-seat entertainment centre that hosts high-profile entertain-ment and trade shows, and numerous dining facilities, from sit-down restau-rants to well-known quick-service and coffee chains. An unusual feature is its pair of NHL-standard hockey rinks thatThe River Cree expansion will add an additional 40,000 square feet of luxurious event space to the resortIndigenous BUSINESS REPORT61'