LJWorld.com / Park City casino proposal launched

Archive for Monday, January 17, 2005

The Associated Press

January 17, 2005

Park City — Former Wichita Mayor Bob Knight unveiled plans for a $200 million resort casino here, complete with a 300-room hotel and an indoor-outdoor water park.

Knight acknowledged the proposed 39-acre resort faces a political battle but said Saturday he was hopeful the project would proceed. He said the project could generate 1,500 construction jobs and eventually employ 2,500 people.

"I am not a person who likes to create expectations that go unfulfilled," said Knight, who once opposed casinos in the area.

The casino proposal calls for construction in conjunction with the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska under the American Indian Gaming Act. The development would be located across I-135 from the Kansas Coliseum complex and Wichita Greyhound Park.

The complex includes a 260,000-square-foot casino with an 80,000-square-foot gaming floor and 2,500 slot machines. It would contain three restaurants and a 2,500-seat event center; a 12-story hotel, a 40,000-square-foot convention facility and parking for 4,100 vehicles.

Dennis Smith, of the Law/Kingdon architecture firm, said his company studied the market potential for the project and determined it could draw visitors from a 500-mile circle including Texas, Colorado, Missouri, Oklahoma, Nebraska and southern Iowa.

"A lot of people will see this as a destination," he said.

Knight said projections indicate the state would gain $50 million to $55 million annually from its share of casino revenues.

Still, the former mayor acknowledged the project has "a vocal minority" of opponents, some of whom attended the weekend press conference.

Park City resident Keith Thomas belongs to a group of opponents, Voices of the Heartland, and wore a button reading "Please, No Casinos!" to the plan's unveiling.