Seneca Nation of Indians FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact Steve Bell Eric Mower and Associates 716.880.1449 716.548.9199 (c) sbell@mower.com
Seneca Nation Unveils Buffalo Creek Casino Design New permanent casino planned to integrate with city’s waterfront BUFFALO CREEK TERRITORY, Buffalo NY, March 27, 2012 – The Seneca Nation of Indians and Seneca Gaming Corp. today unveiled a re-designed $130 million Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino on the Nation’s 9.5 acre territory here. The project, due to finish in the summer of 2013, is expected to provide approximately 600 construction-period jobs. The completed casino will provide 500 direct jobs, including casino jobs and others directly related to the project, with a multiplier effect that will create another 500 jobs over time. “This new casino will be a national design leader for casinos in urban settings,” said Nation President Robert Odawi Porter. “Our investment in this facility is our stake in our partnership with Buffalo’s Inner Harbor, the rejuvenation of the Perry Choice Neighborhood, and growth in the Old First Ward and along the Buffalo River. We are all in this together and we will succeed through collaboration.”
P.O. Box 231, Salamanca, Allegany Territory, NY 14779 • Ph: 716-945-1790
The redesigned casino is the result of months of community and stakeholder input so it integrates well with the nearby waterfront, the Perry-South Park neighborhood and the Old First Ward, as well as the growth along the Buffalo River shoreline. When complete, the new casino will replace the current, slots-only casino that opened on the territory in 2007. The new design features a main stone-faced building containing the newest and highly popular slots, table games and a small, American-style restaurant and bar facility. A four-story parking ramp backing on Marvin Street is part of the project and will be built behind the casino, which is at Michigan Avenue and Perry Street. Earlier this year, Seneca Gaming Corp. announced it hired the Hnedak Bobo Group, an award-winning, Memphis-based design firm, to create the new vision. Preparation for the new casino began Monday, as workers started dismantling the steel frame erected as part of the now revised plans for the original casino. Work on the original project was suspended in 2008 as the economy began to soften. The dismantling process is expected to take five to six weeks to complete, with about 340 tons of the steel re-used for the new casino. Seneca officials expect to start construction of the new casino this summer. “Dismantling the existing steel structure not only clears the site so our new vision can take shape, it opens the door to a modern concept designed to generate a prudent business model for downtown Buffalo. Our sights can now be clearly set on the future,” said Karen Karsten, chairman of the Seneca Gaming Corp. board of directors. “As we move forward, we are excited by the investments being made, by ourselves and by many others, to create an exciting destination atmosphere in the Inner Harbor and Buffalo River areas.” Opened in 2007, the current temporary Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino underwent two expansion projects, in 2008 and 2010. The property now features 457 slot machines and attracts more than 750,000 visitors a year, making it one of downtown Buffalo’s most popular destinations. The new casino blends the gaming attractions with development efforts planned for the Inner Harbor area. As part of the planning process, the corporation and its architects engaged in an ongoing dialogue with neighborhood representatives and local leaders about plans for downtown Buffalo.
P.O. Box 231, Salamanca, Allegany Territory, NY 14779 • Ph: 716-945-1790 • Fax: 716-945-6869
“The feedback we have received from those in the community has been tremendously helpful in shaping our project as an integral piece of the redevelopment process for the Inner Harbor area,” said Robert Chamberlain, senior vice president of design and construction, Seneca Gaming Corp. Seneca Gaming and the Seneca Nation are also helping to redefine the neighborhoods surrounding the Buffalo Creek Territory with $1 million in grants to boost infrastructure, landscaping, lighting and signage in areas around the casino. Applications for grants for those improvements are due March 31 and awards are expected to be announced in late April. Since opening Seneca Niagara Casino in 2002, Seneca Gaming has grown to employ more than 3,700 people, while investing nearly $1 billion in its three casinos. The company operates world-class facilities offering more than 6,500 slot machines, 140 table games, 800 hotel rooms, a championship golf course and other related amenities in Niagara Falls and Salamanca as well. For more information, visit www.senecacasinos.com.
More About The Seneca Nation of Indians The Seneca Nation of Indians, one of the six nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, continues to live on its three aboriginal areas in Western New York, south of Buffalo, as well as sovereign territories in Niagara Falls and Buffalo where the Nation operates resorts. The Senecas’ long history includes passing on constitutional and governmental traditions used by founders of the United States like Benjamin Franklin. Formerly a warrior nation, it traditionally controlled trade and protected the Western territories, earning the title “Keeper of the Western Door.” The Nation’s five sovereign territories are comprised of 31,095 acres along the Allegany River and the Southern Tier Expressway, known as the Allegany Territory; 22,011 acres along Cattaraugus Creek near Lake Erie known as the Cattaraugus Territory; one square mile in Cuba, called the Oil Spring Territory; 30 acres in Niagara Falls, and 9 acres in Buffalo. The Allegany Territory contains the City of Salamanca within its boundaries. Tens of thousands of acres of land in southern New York and northern Pennsylvania were taken from the Nation when the federal government built the Kinzua Dam and forcibly evicted Senecas from their land in the early 1960s. The Nation today operates a $1.1 billion economy that employs more than 6,300 people, native and not.
P.O. Box 231, Salamanca, Allegany Territory, NY 14779 • Ph: 716-945-1790