The West Valley Resort and Casino has sparked multiple legal battles, inspired a congressional bill and caused rifts among several of the state’s tribes. Supporters of the project say it will bring economic development to an area hard hit by recession, but others say those estimates are overly optimistic.
The project’s groundbreaking took place almost two months ago. But driving by this parcel of Tohono O’odham land near Glendale, it doesn’t seem like further progress has been made. A fact that Glendale City Council member Gary Sherwood said is hard to miss.
"We’re just looking at a bunch of weeds," said Sherwood as he peered across the land. He wasn’t sure what’s holding up construction but he says he isn’t worried.
"I’m guessing they’re going to actually start grading the land by early November," he said. "They’ve already been watering it."
Right now, Sherwood supports the project. But he hasn’t always felt this way. Initially, the idea of a sovereign nation moving into the city wasn’t something he was happy about.
"The info that I had been fed was that they may not be paying for the existing infrastructure, that they might not help out with road construction and that they could just tap into the aquifer and take the water that we store," he explained.
Sherwood said face-to-face meetings with tribal leaders helped address his concerns and played a large role in his change of heart. This shift was significant because it gave the Glendale City Council a majority vote in favor of the project. Sherwood said, for him, it boiled down what’s good for the region.
"That's economic development," he said.
That idea is one Ned Norris also gladly touted at the August groundbreaking. Norris is the Tohono O’odham Nation’s Chairman. He estimates construction alone will create about 3,500 jobs. And once completed, he said the resort will support about 3,000 permanent jobs.
But not everyone is convinced. Diane Enos is the President of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. Her tribe, along with several others, run seven casinos in the Phoenix area. She’s worried an additional casino in the region could impact market share.
"There’s only so many customers," Enos said. "And if you put in another casino, and if you put in mega casinos, that disrupts, totally, the income."
That’s a legitimate concern, said Keith Foley, a senior vice president at Moody’s Investors Service. Foley said outside of the Las Vegas strip, the nation’s gaming market is showing signs of cooling off.
"What’s happening now is that the consumers are spending their money on other things," Foley said. "The economy may be getting better. Retail sales may be getting better but they’re not necessarily spending it on slot machines."
Moody’s Investors Service estimates that total U.S. gaming revenues will decrease between 3 and 5 percent over the next year and a half.
"It appears the consumers are spending less on gaming either by necessity or by choice," said Foley. "While there’s nothing to factually back this up, there’s some feeling that new gamers or younger people have other things to do. They may go to a casino but they may not play the slot machines. They may go to the clubs. They may go dancing."
But is that the case in the Valley? Norris doesn’t think so.
"Although gaming revenues nationally have not been where they were prior to 2008 the market is still a viable market," he said. "There is still, in our opinion, reason to move forward and develop this particular project."
The West Valley Resort and Casino is not a done deal yet and this debate may be a moot point. A congressional bill that would stop construction has already passed the House and is waiting to come to the Senate floor. And even if this measure doesn’t pass, the possibility of continued litigation means the project’s future could be decided at the U.S. Supreme Court.