SPOKANE — The Spokane Tribe of Indians says it plans to break ground this fall on a new off-reservation casino in the suburb of Airway Heights.
Tribal Chairwoman Carol Evans said Thursday that the tribe hopes to open the first phase of the project next year. It would include a casino with 450 slot machines and 12 games tables, and two restaurants.
The Spokesman-Review reports that plans call for phasing the development over 10 years.
The $400 million project, first proposed a decade ago, won final approval from Gov. Jay Inslee last month after the U.S. Department of Interior approved it last year.
The tribe says the project will help lift members out of poverty and benefit the entire region.
Many civic leaders in the region, along with the owners of a competing casino, opposed the project. They argued it would encroach on nearby Fairchild Air Force Base, a major source of jobs and economic activity.
