Harrah's to build four-star hotel

By Lisa Majors-Duff

This artist's rendering of the new Cherokee Hotel at Harrah's Casino shows the 15-story structure on the banks of the Oconaluftee River. An enclosed walkway will take guests from the hotel's second story to the floor of the casino (left) on the other side of the river. Casino officials say they hope to have the facility operational by October 2001.

The hotel, which is scheduled to be open for business by October 2001 at a cost of $60 million, will be 15 stories tall with 250 "premier" rooms, said Tim Wilmott, Harrah's Eastern Division president. The hotel complex, to be located across from the casino on the opposite bank of the Oconaluftee River, will also feature a 34,000-square-foot conference center, two restaurants, a swimming pool and a 650-car parking garage. Hotel customers will be able to access the casino by a crosswalk, which will lead directly to the casino floor.

Even though Harrah's Cherokee Casino is the largest tourist attraction in North Carolina, with a visitation count of 3.3 million in 1999, areas remain from which to draw new customers, Wilmott said.

"That's why this hotel is such an important issue right now," he said. "The 250 rooms will only scratch the surface of the potential of attracting new customers." Nearly half the casino's customers travel from the Asheville-Greenville-Spartanburg, S.C., area.

One concern facing casino officials is the current job market and where the additional 250 employees needed to operate the new hotel will come from. The casino currently employs 1,500 people with a payroll of more than $33.4 million annually. Unemployment rates are down 4.7 points in Swain County and 1.5 points in Jackson.

That concern aside, Cherokee Principal Chief Leon Jones expressed his excitment for the project.

"This is exciting, really exciting," Jones said. "I'm fortunate to be here at this time in Cherokee's history."

Jones went on to couple the growth of tribal enterprises, including the tribe's Department of Transportation and water and sewer infrastructure, with the casino's success.

"Who would have thought we'd have our own division to build roads and be able to connect our people with water and sewer lines," he said.

The road-building effort the chief referred to is the U.S. 19 improvement, a $15 million project designed by the tribal DOT. The project will be completed in seven stages and cover just over 14 miles from the casino entrance to Ghost Town in Maggie Valley, said DOT Executive Director Kevin Alford. Construction on the first phase of the project, Section F, is set to begin in 2002 and cover 2.6 miles and include a scenic overlook.

Both the tribe's water and sewer treatment facilities are operating at about 55 percent capacity, said Tribal Utilities Director Calvin Murphy. When they reach 65 percent, he said, an expansion will be necessary. The casino's planned expansion, coupled with business growth on the reservation, could necessitate water and sewer upgrades, he said.

"Traffic and business have increased," said Tribal Council Chairman Dan McCoy. "We need to do things with our infrastructure to make things better for our people."

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