Keweenaw Report Your Source for Local News and Sports
A proposed plan by the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community to move their Marquette casino facility to the former Marquette County Airport location will not go forward.
The KBIC reporting that Governor Rick Snyder once again refused to allow the new entertainment complex to be built unless a “common agreement” could be reached, which would include additional concessions by the tribe.
Snyder first denied the proposal three years ago.
Speaking to this issue in 2014, Snyder said he had concerns over casino gambling in the state.
Had the proposal been approved, the KBIC says the new facility would have led to hundreds of new jobs and a boost to the local economy.
Regardless, Snyder said he doesn’t take moving casinos around lightly.
The governor’s office released this statement Tuesday:
“The community reached out to the governor’s office to see if he would reconsider a previous decision, if they reapplied for the parcel to be put into trust,” said Anna Heaton, press secretary for Gov. Rick Snyder. “The governor cannot make such a determination without giving it due consideration. At this point we are not aware that the community has indeed reapplied to take the airport parcel into trust for purposes of gaming. Once the community reapplies, the governor is more than willing to continue a dialogue about how agreement can be reached.”
The KBIC statement follows:
