Wampanoags peg revenue from Taunton casino at $512 million
By Andy Metzger
State House News Service Posted Jul 23, 2012
BOSTON —
An environmental filing from the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe lays out initial revenue projections for its planned casino venture at $511.8 million per year, though that figure includes revenue from the entire casino complex not just gaming revenue.
A July 2 Environmental Notification Form states the “operation is expected to generate $511.8 million annually.”
Tribal leaders were unavailable for comment but a source close to the tribe confirmed that the number indicates the initial projection of total annual revenue. In addition to a casino, the tribe plans to build restaurants, retail stores and hotels. A more detailed breakdown of the revenues was not available.
Construction of the casino is far from guaranteed. Gov. Deval Patrick signed a gaming compact on July 12; the House last week approved that compact, which is pending before the Senate this week.
Some lawmakers have raised concerns about the likelihood that the tribe will be able to establish its “initial reservation” by putting land into federal trust.
Skeptics have said the Supreme Court ruled that in order to be eligible for putting land into federal trust, tribes must have been recognized prior to 1934. The Mashpee were federally recognized as a tribe in 2007.
Supporters of the trust have said the Wampanoag were the tribe that greeted European colonists after the Mayflower landed in present-day Plymouth. According to the Mashpee’s website, the tribe owned all the land in the town of Mashpee until the land was split up in 1870.
The July 2 filing, prepared by Epsilon Associates and provided to the News Service after a request, is required because the tribe is seeking state permits, including driveway access to Route 140, according to state environmental officials. The state will hold a public hearing on Tuesday evening at Taunton High School and the public comment period will stay open until July 31. On Aug. 10, Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Richard Sullivan will lay out the scope for the Draft Environmental Impact Report. The state permits cannot be issued until the Final Environmental Impact Report has been accepted, state environmental officials said.
According to the gaming compact agreed to by Patrick and the Mashpee, 21.5 percent of gross gaming revenues would go toward the state. A spokesperson for the governor told the News Service the Patrick administration does not have an estimate for gaming revenue.
The money that would be sent to Taunton is more clearly laid out in the environmental filing.
The city would receive a $1.5 million initial payment, and then annual payments of 2.05 percent of electronic games revenue amounting to no less than $8 million per year. The tribe would make payments in lieu of taxes based on the real estate value of the casino development and make an estimated $15.5 million in payments for upgraded infrastructure and the hiring of new public safety personnel, according to the July 2 filing. The developer would also fund improvements along nearby state roads, according to the environmental filing.
Construction of the $500 million casino project is expected to generate $836.5 million in economic activity in Massachusetts, according to the filing.
In addition to the financial figures, the 235-page document lays out the environmental impact of the development, called Project First Light, which the environmental officials likened in scope to Patriot Place next to Gillette Stadium. The site includes the existing Liberty & Union Industrial Park, which has five light industrial buildings, according to the filing.
“The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe has a long tradition of careful use and conservation of natural resources,” a letter accompanying the filing states. “The proposed project will be sustainably designed and is expected to have minimal environmental impacts.”
The Taunton casino increase vehicle trips per day in the area from roughly 3,600 trips today to about 24,700 after the casino complex is built. The amount of water used would balloon from 10,000 gallons per-day currently to 220,000 gallons per day once the project is finished, according to a table in the filing.
Of the site’s 146 acres, 89 would remain undeveloped land. The tribe plans to build in phases, starting with a casino complex near the Route 140 entrance, then two 300-room hotels, and finally another 300-room hotel, an indoor water park and a 15,000-square-foot event center built across some train tracks from the rest of the development.
The tribe’s transportation plan envisions the completion of the South Coast Rail, which could add a commuter rail stop in Taunton. The developers are considering establishing a shuttle bus from the station to the casino. The developers will also hire archeologists to examine the site, the filing said.
Big Dig anyone?
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment