TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — There’s a business boost coming closer for the part of Tucson near I-10 and Grant. The Pascua Yaqui Tribe says a new casino there will be a good bet for that area, and the region.
The empty parking lot near I-10 and Grant is full of potential. The Pascua Yaqui Tribe controls it now and has the legal authority to build a new casino there. It will be a casino much closer to the heart of Tucson than any of the other casinos around.
The land near I-10 and Grant held a multi plex movie theater but the screens went dark years ago. When the Federal Government officially designated the land as held in trust for the tribe that opened the door for operating a casino here.
The I-10 and Grant location will be close to a large slice of Tucson population. I-10 will make it easy for the new casino to tap into a regional pool of customers.
Elizabeth Cazares is a regular at Casino Del Sol on West Valencia. She’s eager to try out the new casino set close to downtown.
“Oh we were super excited. I thought it’s wonderful to have another option to go to a different Pascua Yaqui casino in town.”
KGUN reporter Craig Smith said: “It sounds like you appreciate the fact there’s going to be jobs for people too.”
Elizabeth: “Exactly, lots of jobs, that’s what we want. We want people to keep working and bring in a lot more people to work.”
Lesah Sesma-Gay is general manager at Casino Del Sol. She expects the new casino to provide five hundred jobs at first, with the potential for a hotel or other expansion later on.
“On this culturally significant land, you know, we're bringing economic development not only to the tribe and to the Old Pascua village but to the city of Tucson. Tucson is expanding in many different ways and the revitalization of downtown. And, you know, the west side, the east side, I feel that having it on Grant Road is going to be exponential.“
It’s not clear just yet when construction will start.
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Craig Smith is a reporter for KGUN 9. With more than 40 years of reporting in cities like Tampa, Houston and Austin, Craig has covered more than 40 Space Shuttle launches and covered historic hurricanes like Katrina, Ivan, Andrew and Hugo. Share your story ideas and important issues with Craig by emailing craig.smith@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook and Twitter.
