Owners want to drop Iowa casino hotel

Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2000 | 11:01 a.m.

Mayor Terry Duggan said Peninsula Gaming Co.'s change of heart regarding the hotel development is a "red flag" that the group might not be acting in the community's best interests.

When the Racing and Gaming Commission granted Peninsula a gaming license in May, the group stipulated that the riverboat's owners begin construction on the $10 million hotel within 18 months.

In a letter to the commission dated Feb. 17, Peninsula's attorney, Lorraine May, of the Hopkins & Huebner law firm in Des Moines, requests the hotel condition be dropped from the license agreement.

The matter should come before the racing and gaming commission at its March 3 meeting in Ames.

The letter offers no reason for the request, saying only that negotiations with the city of Dubuque regarding land in the Ice Harbor haven't been successful in facilitating the hotel development.

Peninsula owns 7.2 acres in the Ice Harbor. It was negotiating with the city to lease 2.5 additional acres in the harbor for the hotel, said City Manager Mike Van Milligen.

Van Milligen said the city has been reserving its land in the Ice Harbor for a large-scale development, with a hotel and 20,000 square feet for an entertainment facility.

The riverboat's previous owners, the Greater Dubuque Riverboat Entertainment Co., were interested in pursuing such a development, he said. Peninsula bought the riverboat from the GDREC last year.

Peninsula isn't willing to partner with the city on a development larger than the 150-room hotel, Van Milligen said, and negotiations have faltered because of it.