BRIDGEPORT, NY - The Oneida Indian Nation will soon begin construction on its third Central New York casino - this one in Bridgeport - just over the Onondaga County-Madison County line near Cicero.
The casino, which will cost $40 million to $50 million, will be built on Route 31 near the corner of Bridgeport-Kirkville Road in the town of Sullivan in Madison County, Oneida Nation officials told Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard. The location is a few hundred feet from Onondaga County.
Construction will begin in May, Oneida Nation officials said. They estimate the project will create 250 construction jobs. It will open in spring 2018, they said.
The new 24-hour-a-day facility - called Point Place Casino - will be 65,000 square feet and will employ about 200 people, officials said. There will be parking for about 800 vehicles, they said.
The casino will have nearly 500 slot machines and 20 table games, officials said. It also will have two places to eat, a bakery and two lounges, they said.
It will be slightly smaller than the 67,000-square-foot Yellow Brick Road Casino in Chittenango which the Oneida Nation opened in June 2015, officials said. Yellow Brick Road has 431 slot machines and 14 table games.
The new casino will be smoke free and alcohol will be served.
This will be the closest casino to Onondaga County. Yellow Brick Road is a mile from the Onondaga County line. Under agreements with the state, the Oneidas can open casinos in Madison or Oneida counties on nation-owned land.
The plan reveals more of the nation's strategy for competing with the new Del Lago Resort & Casino, located 43 miles west of Syracuse, which opened in February.
Oneida Nation officials say they selected this location because of its close proximity to highways and ease of access for people who live in Cicero, Clay, Liverpool, Fulton, Oswego, Bridgeport and Syracuse.
The casino would be 13 minutes from I-81 and 15 minutes from the New York State Thruway. It would be 19 minutes from Clay; 25 minutes from Liverpool and 30 minutes to Baldwinsville. It would be 22 minutes from downtown Syracuse.
The Route 31 Development Corp. - one of the Oneida Nation's companies - bought more than 100 acres of land for $1.3 million along the Route 31 corridor in the town of Sullivan late last year and transferred it to the Oneida Nation, according to Madison County real estate records. The casino will take up about 15 acres.
The casino will be about 10 miles from Yellow Brick Road, which has been "an overwhelming success," Oneida Nation officials said. Yellow Brick Road is the inspiration and model for the new casino, they say.
Oneida Nation officials said they believe the new casino will draw customers who might not make the drive to the Yellow Brick Road Casino. The new casino will attract people who live in the northern suburbs, Oswego County area and Syracuse where there are no casinos, official said.
Because the casino will be built on what is now Oneida Nation land, no permission or license is needed from federal, state or local governments to open the casino, according to federal law and agreements between the state and the Oneidas.
The Oneida Nation's flagship Turning Stone Casino and Resort in Verona opened in 1993. In addition to casinos, it includes hotels, restaurants, entertainment venues and golf courses.
Point Place, named for its proximity to the nearby points that stretch out into Oneida Lake, will sit diagonally on a 15-acre parcel, facing slightly toward Route 31. The design will be rustic with an outdoors-like feel, officials said.
Ray Halbritter, Oneida Nation Representative and Nation Enterprises chief executive officer, said this new investment in Central New York "will continue the success we have had in working hand-in-hand with the local community to create good jobs and generate public revenues.
"Over the last few decades, we have worked hard to build a well-planned economic model that has sustained and invigorated the local economy - and our expansion projects have almost always exceeded expectations,'' Halbritter said. "In the coming months, we are looking forward to working with the community to launch this latest project and build off that success."
The Oneida Nation's announcement of a new casino comes on the heels of the opening of the region's newest casino, Del Lago, in the town of Tyre in Seneca County.
Oneida Nation officials say they've had competition for years, ever since opening Turning Stone.
"We've always expanded and grown based on a number of factors," said Joel Barkin, a spokesman for the Oneida Nation. "We see a demand and a market for a gaming facility here. We think this is an area where people will get very excited about it.''
In addition to Del Lago, New York state has approved three other casinos: Rivers Casino and Resort located in Schenectady, the Montreign Casino & Raceway in the Catskills and Tioga Downs Casino in the Southern Tier.
Some gaming experts have said the Upstate market is becoming oversaturated with casinos.
Oneida Nation officials said they are not worried.
"Each of our properties offers a different experience, and Point Place will be a unique offering from Yellow Brick, and will complement the overall model we're created,'' Barkin said. "We are confident the region can support each of these businesses."The terms of the 1993 Oneida Nation Gaming Compact with New York and a 2013 settlement agreement permit the Oneida Nation to operate casino games on nation lands in Madison or Oneida counties.
The land where Point Place is located is within the boundaries of the Oneida reservation, which was determined in the 2013 settlement agreement. When the nation acquires land within its reservation, it becomes "nation land" on which gaming can occur.
In the past, Halbritter has said there's no legal limit on the number of casinos the Oneidas could open on their land, adding "the only limit is good business sense."
The National Indian Gaming Commission allows Class 3 gaming, including slot machines, on tribal lands held in federal trust within the terms of compacts between states and independent Indian nations like the Oneidas.
The 2013 settlement agreement signed by the Oneidas and Gov. Andrew Cuomo - which also settled outstanding land claims - gave the Oneidas the exclusive right to gaming activity in a 10-county area around Turning Stone. In exchange, the Oneidas agreed to share 25 percent of its slot revenues with state and local governments.
More photos of opening day at Yellow Brick Road Casino
If the Oneidas wanted to build a casino outside those two counties, they would need state, federal and local approval like any other developer.
In 2016, the Oneida Nation gave nearly $62 million to the state and the 10 counties: Oneida, Madison, Cayuga, Chenango, Cortland, Herkimer, Lewis, Onondaga, Oswego and Otsego.
Point Place Casino will be subject to the same revenue-sharing agreement the Oneidas have with the state.
The new Oneida Nation casino will be located just west of the Off Track Betting parlor in Bridgeport.
The Oneidas' move to locate near Onondaga County is reminiscent of OTB's approach to tapping into the Onondaga County market. OTB opened in Bridgeport (Madison,) Phoenix (Oswego), Weedsport (Cayuga) and Cortland (Cortland) - all just outside Onondaga County when Onondaga County wouldn't authorize OTB parlors.
The new casino will have two fast-casual counter-service restaurants, including Wicked Good Pizza, which also is located at Yellow Brick Road Casino and Turning Stone. The other restaurant will be Burgers of Madison County, offering burgers, milkshakes and more.
Opals Confectionary, a bakery and chocolatier at Turning Stone, will open a location at Point Place Casino. There also will be two cocktail lounges.
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