Station buys California land for tribal casino

By Liz Benston (contact)

Monday, Aug. 15, 2005 | 11:58 a.m.

Station Casinos Inc. has purchased land in Northern California for the development of a casino the company intends to build and manage for an Indian tribe.

In a document filed today with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Station said a company subsidiary on Thursday bought about 271 acres near Rohnert Park in Sonoma County. The company expects the federal government to take a portion of the land into trust for the Federated Indians of the Graton Rancheria.

The purchase follows an appeals court ruling in California last month that found that the proposed casino can proceed without further input from local voters. After the city of Rohnert Park approved an agreement to share casino revenue with the tribe, residents gathered signatures to bring the agreement to a popular vote.

The tribe still needs a casino compact with the state as well as federal approval to take land into trust for the casino. The federal government also must sign off on the tribe's management agreement with Station Casinos.

The company didn't disclose the purchase price of the land, located at the intersection of Dowdell and Wilfred avenues in Sonoma County.

The purchase is the latest step in a drawn-out battle between Bay Area residents and casino developers and marks the third casino site proposed by the tribe.

The tribe initially wanted to build the casino on a site near the Infineon Raceway and near San Pablo Bay but local officials, residents and members of Congress fought the plan, saying it was an environmentally sensitive area.

The tribe then looked further north to Rohnert Park, locking up an option to buy 360 acres of land west of town. Residents also fought that plan, saying that land was also environmentally sensitive and located in a 100-year flood plain.

The new site is located outside the flood plain, has few wetland areas and is within an area identified for commercial, residential or industrial development, the tribe said in a statement today.

"Once again, the Federated Indians of the Graton Rancheria have listened to the concerns raised about its proposed site and responded by expending additional funds to resolve those concerns," tribal Chairman Greg Sarris said.

The new property includes the southern 180 acres of the previous 360-acre site, which will be used for "environmental mitigation," the tribe said. The casino will be built on a portion of a 90-acre parcel adjacent to the eastern boundary of the 360-acre site.

In the company's second quarter earnings statement, Station said it has so far advanced about $24 million to develop the casino. Executives had previously said the casino could be built by 2007 but lately haven't discussed the timing of the project. "The timing of this type of project is difficult to predict," the earnings statement said.

The federal status of the Graton tribe was terminated in the 1960s but was restored by an act of Congress in 2000 that gave the tribe the right to a new reservation within its historic area.02