The Iowa Racing and Gambling Commission recently received the application for a state gaming license from the casino investment group Cedar Rapids Development Group LLC headed by local businessmen Steve Gray and Drew Skogman for a proposal for a $150 million casino project in Cedar Rapids. The application got in to the office in Des Moines on Friday afternoon, just ahead of the Monday afternoon deadline set by the commission. The mammoth application consisted of two large bins and four banker’s boxes and included artists’ conceptions of the casino (shown below), and revealed the casino’s name: Cedar Crossing Casino.
Gray spoke about the idea behind the group’s proposal. “Our urban concept is unique to Iowa and is truly different than most of the resort destinations in the state. We also believe it truly fits the location and will prove to be an economic catalyst for Cedar Rapids.” Cedar Rapids mayor Ron Corbett also spoke in favor of the project. “Ours is an urban, downtown venue, multilevel with lots of lights. It has that Las Vegas flavor that others don’t.” Mayor Corbett promised that the new casino would not be like the eyesore “cornfield casinos” that operate in other parts of Iowa. Gray promised that the casino will revitalize the downtown area and encourage other economic development.
The topic of the casino arose in the City's council meeting last month when the city agreed to spend $2 million for street and lighting infrastructure improvements to support the project in return for the investors paying the city and additional $1 million when the property sales closes, and 1% of the casino’s receipts for 50 years, estimated to come to about $800,000 in the first year.
There hasn't been much discussion about the economic impact that another casino would have on eastern Iowa, and even according to the economic impact report completed back in 2009 by former Governor Chief of Staff Doug Gross it was much more about preventing gambling dollars from leaving Linn county then it was about adding gambling dollars to Iowa from out of state. The Iowa Gaming commission mush still approve the license, and they are supposed to use the latter criteria in determining what is best for the state and eastern Iowa. However, this investment group has seen the support of the entire Cedar Rapids City Council, the Governors office, and many other of the movers and shakers in the state. One may be led to believe the written charge of the commission may not come much into play, and with the amount of money already invested in this project, the purchasing of land, and items such as the city council moving forward with the deal for a new parking ramp and other infrastructure, there is an air of assumption when it comes to the casino, and at this point I would be shocked if the license was denied, despite the initial appearance that there will be very little net positive impact for the state of Iowa.
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