Catawba Nation files land-into-trust application for casino site



The Catawba Nation of South Carolina has filed a land-into-trust application for a proposed casino in North Carolina.

The tribe wants to use 16 acres in Cleveland County for a $600 million resort. Plans call for a 220,000 square-foot casino, two hotels with a combined 750 rooms, multiple restaurants and retail shopping venues.

“The Catawba Nation ancestral lands run throughout the Carolinas and well into Virginia, although the federal government now recognizes our service area as South Carolina and part of North Carolina,” Chief Bill Harris said in a press release. “We are hopeful that the BIA will move quickly to approve our application.”

After being terminated in 1959, the tribe was restored to federal recognition by act of Congress in 1993. The law includes Cleveland County in North Carolina in the tribe's service area.

The law also subjects the tribe to South Carolina's gaming laws. The same restriction doesn't appear to apply to the tribe in North Carolina.

Get the Story:
Catawbas seek federal OK to buy land for casino (The Rock Hill Herald 9/9)
Catawbas push to open $600M casino in Kings Mountain (The Charlotte Business Journal 9/9)
Catawba Indian Nation looks to NC for casino project (AP 9/8)
What is a compact and what does it mean for North Carolina? (The Shelby Star 9/8)
What could casino resort mean for us? A look at Harrah's Cherokee (The Shelby Star 9/8)
Group behind resort development also built Trump Taj Mahal, Cosmopolitan in Vegas (The Shelby Star 9/8)

Related Stories
Lawmakers against Catawba Nation casino took Cherokee funds (9/5)

Join the Conversation