Sky River Casino - 2020 News Archive

Elk Grove casino project buys 'ghost mall' property

December 11, 2020

Elk Grove city officials announced this week that the Howard Hughes Corporation has sold its ghost mall property near Grantline Road and Highway 99 to the casino resort developer for the Wilton Rancheria tribe.

Elk Grove's Ghost Mall Property Owner Sells To Gaming Developer - Courtesy of CBS Sacramento, . Available from YouTube

The developer fot the Wilton Rancheria casino resort is Boyd Gaming of Las Vegas. Tribal chairman Jesus Tarrango issued this statement:

"Boyd Gaming's decision to buy this land continues to demonstrate their commitment to becoming a partner in developing Wilton Rancheria Resort and Casino."

In late 2019 construction workers began dismantling parts of the unfinished shopping mall, nicknamed the "Ghost Mall", for the site of the future Wilton Rancheria resort and casino.

Elk Grove casino project delayed until late 2021

January 14, 2020

The $500 million Wilton Rancheria casino resort planned for Elk Grove, California is delayed until late 2021. It was previously targeted to open in late 2020.

This week Wilton Rancheria Chairman Raymond "Chuckie" Hitchcock made the following announcement:

"Last year, 2019, we had to do some redesign on a few areas that set us back, and now we're getting back on track.

"As far as an update on timing, we're most likely waiting for the spring to hit, so we're not in the wet season, because we have in-ground infrastructure. And it's an 18-month construction process. So, if you do the math, that's late 2021 for opening for the project.

"The project is imminent," he said. "It's going to happen. The light is at the end of the tunnel to get started with this project. The designs are 95% to 99% done. Two areas we're just working on right now are small stuff. But the next project (is to) start digging in the ground and getting it going."

Hitchcock expects the groundbreaking for the casino will be this spring.

In the meantime there is one last legal challenge to resolve. An opposition group, Stand Up for California!, has appealed a federal court ruling regarding the U.S. Interior Department's processing of the tribe's casino application.

Stand Up's director Cheryl Schmit said, "The district court overlooked serious flaws in the (U.S. Department of Interior) public process and hasty environmental analysis, as well as a lack of proper legal authority exercised by an acting official in the waning days of the last administration."

Hitchcock believes the appeal will have no effect on the casino project schedule.

"The lawsuit has no bearing upon our ability to move forward with our project. We're just moving forward, regardless of the white noise that is the appeal from Stand Up."

"Everything we've done has been done correctly. All of the arguments made by Stand Up are baseless and conjecture. We're a tribe, we're from this area and territory. We got restored lands properly, and the decision that was made to put land into trust was done correctly. They're just looking for reasons to conflict."