A casino investor group led by local businessmen Steve Gray and Drew Skogman has filed a formal application for a casino in Cedar Rapids, the second largest city in the US state of Iowa.
The application has been lodged with the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission to obtain a state gaming licence for a proposed $150m plus Cedar Crossing Casino with parking ramp across the Cedar River from downtown.
The five-member commission will decide in the months ahead if it will grant the proposed casino a licence to operate. In the application, the Cedar Rapids investor group, which Gray said now includes more than 180 local investors, is emphasising that the Cedar Crossing Casino will be a downtown, urban casino unlike most of the others in the state, including the Riverside Casino and Golf Resort south of Iowa City.
“Our urban concept is unique to Iowa and is truly different than most of the resort destinations in the state,” Gray said. “We also believe it truly fits the location and will prove to be an economic catalyst for Cedar Rapids.”
Mayor Ron Corbett has spoken in similar fashion, saying the casino concept for Cedar Rapids is not like the “cornfield casinos” in much of the rest of the state that he said are surrounded by seas of asphalt. “Ours is an urban, downtown venue, multilevel with lots of lights,” Corbett said. “It has that Las Vegas flavour that others don’t have.”
It comes, too, with local investors, an experienced casino management team, strong community and local government support and a location that is “critical to the growth” of Cedar Rapids, the mayor said.
