LJWorld.com

Bonner Springs — The Delaware Tribe of Indians on Wednesday announced plans to create a $225 million destination resort hotel and casino near the Kansas Speedway in Wyandotte County.

The casino, which the tribe said would create 2,000 new jobs, would be in the northeastern corner of the city.

"This is a huge event," said Clausie Smith, Bonner Springs mayor, who called it the biggest development in the history of the city. He said the project would be appropriate because the Delawares were instrumental in founding the community.

"We are personally very happy and excited the Delaware Tribe decided to return home," Smith said.

The Bartlesville, Okla.,-based tribe has been rebuffed in earlier attempts at similar projects in northeast Kansas.

In 2001, the tribe met with officials from various municipalities in Leavenworth County, including Basehor, where the proposal was for a hotel and casino along U.S. Highway 24-40. Later, after residents voiced opposition, Basehor decided to pass on the project.

The tribe met with similar resistance in Leavenworth, Tonganoxie and Lawrence, where residents were not enthusiastic about a proposed casino near the Lawrence Municipal Airport.

In Bonner Springs, the city plans to conduct public forums in the next few weeks to allow the tribe to make public presentations and answer questions.

"We want the straight stuff out; we don't want the rumors and innuendoes, just the facts," said John Hunt, an attorney for the tribe.

Because the Kansas Constitution generally prohibits gaming, a casino can only exist if it is state-owned or operated by an Indian tribe.

The Bonner Springs-Delaware Tribe marriage has several hurdles to overcome before it can be consummated. Smith said it could take as long as three years.

The tribe has filed an application with the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs to place the targeted land in trust while the purchase is completed. The tribe also must negotiate an agreement with Bonner Springs and Wyandotte County for services to the site, and obtain approval from state and federal governments.

Wyandotte County may be a more welcoming destination than Leavenworth or Douglas counties were three years ago. In 1996, 82 percent of Wyandotte County voters said they would support gaming in Kansas. State officials also have lent support for gaming in Wyandotte County.

A state panel commissioned by Gov. Kathleen Sebelius determined the state loses millions of dollars in revenue each year to Missouri, where riverboat casinos are legal. The panel also determined the benefits of gaming outweighed its costs and that the state should expand gaming in a limited fashion.

Sebelius has proposed creating up to five state-owned "world-class, destination casinos" in Kansas, allowing 2,500 slot machines spread among the state's five pari-mutuel tracks, and up to five slot machines at each of the 240 fraternal clubs across the state.