Grand Forks Economy

[Kab]

Isn’t that where the expected interchange on i29 is supposed to be , by the campground.

the best use of the campground land would be to relocate it, looks like and engineering  nightmare to see how that exit and on-ramp would be 

[NewUndFan]

1 hour ago, ND1 said:

No idea, I believe the land would be just south of where Sanford Health purchased their land and adjacent to the new I-29/47th Ave so Interchange.

According to the maps on the news it is on the west side of interstate right next to the campground on the south side.  

[NewUndFan]

4 minutes ago, Kab said:

Isn’t that where the expected interchange on i29 is supposed to be , by the campground.

the best use of the campground land would be to relocate it, looks like and engineering  nightmare to see how that exit and on-ramp would be 

Yes that is where the new interchange will be.  When they purchased that land they had to know that.  

[gfhockey]

1 hour ago, ChadR said:

Who did they buy the land from? And how much?

Probably useldinger

[SIOUXFAN97]

does this casino have any chance of passing?

this has been talked about for over 20 years.....

i know they own that land out there but wouldn't downtown near all the new stuff be better than out in a field?

[Kab]

1 hour ago, NewUndFan said:

Yes that is where the new interchange will be.  When they purchased that land they had to know that.  

They were smart to do that 

[NewUndFan]

25 minutes ago, SIOUXFAN97 said:

does this casino have any chance of passing?

this has been talked about for over 20 years.....

i know they own that land out there but wouldn't downtown near all the new stuff be better than out in a field?

I dont think so. I think right off interstate with easy access for passing traffic, especially Canadian traffic is smart.  Besides where down town would be big enough to have a casino like that?  Parking would be horrible.  They have 146 acres now to build on.   This is suppose to be a Vegas type casino.  

[SIOUXFAN97]

if we (GF/EGF) get one AND moorhead (fgo) gets one..............if we don't fix the columbia mall they (canadians and non gf residents) will drive right past ours to get the combo of west acres/ and a casino versus a 98% empty mall / and a casino.

[UND1983]

That’s a lot of zeros to pay for something that isn’t guaranteed.  I know the value isn’t going down but still

[nodak651]

3 hours ago, SIOUXFAN97 said:

if we (GF/EGF) get one AND moorhead (fgo) gets one..............if we don't fix the columbia mall they (canadians and non gf residents) will drive right past ours to get the combo of west acres/ and a casino versus a 98% empty mall / and a casino.

City should put pickleball in there.

[Redneksioux]

7 hours ago, UND1983 said:

That’s a lot of zeros to pay for something that isn’t guaranteed.  I know the value isn’t going down but still

Didnt they spend more on their land purchase in Vegas?
 

Being this is out of gf city limits, the casino/hotel will avoid city taxes. If I read correctly their goal is sovereign land, so would no longer even be part of GF County. 
 

I’d be interested in perspective from Devils Lake residents and how Spirit Lake Casino benefits them. 

 

[Sioux>Bison]

1 hour ago, Redneksioux said:

Didnt they spend more on their land purchase in Vegas?
 

Being this is out of gf city limits, the casino/hotel will avoid city taxes. If I read correctly their goal is sovereign land, so would no longer even be part of GF County. 
 

I’d be interested in perspective from Devils Lake residents and how Spirit Lake Casino benefits them. 

 

3 affiliated tribes bought the Vegas property 

[geaux_sioux]

On 1/27/2025 at 8:12 AM, gfhockey said:

Agreed but I already hear the non profits gearing up for a fight

They can pry my pigwheel from my cold dead hands

[Brim006]

14 hours ago, Redneksioux said:

Didnt they spend more on their land purchase in Vegas?
 

Being this is out of gf city limits, the casino/hotel will avoid city taxes. If I read correctly their goal is sovereign land, so would no longer even be part of GF County. 
 

I’d be interested in perspective from Devils Lake residents and how Spirit Lake Casino benefits them. 

 

IMO Spirit Lake isn't a good comparison to what this GF casino would be due to several reasons - Spirit Lake is on an island in the middle of the lake 8-10 miles away from DL city center (even completely different county). It's also off a low traffic rural highway, and is quite a bit smaller in general than this proposed casino in GF. Lastly, due to it's marina, campground and lake cabins, it's as much of a lake resort destination as it is Casino destination. BUT since I'm originally from DL I can mention a few things. 

1. Tourist Traffic - Despite the smaller size of Spirit Lake Casino and decent distance from DL, it absolutely does bring more visitor traffic and money into DL. It doesn't directly provide more tax dollars, and likely doesn't even often provide more hotel stays (due to their own hotel, cabins and campground), but it certainly brings tourists into town that otherwise wouldn't be there. And it definately brings more boaters to other resorts, marinas and lake side bars+resturants on the Devils Lake side of the lake. So it's certainly an important piece of the Devils Lake tourist attraction and would be a major blow if it ever went away. Even for the serious and strictly casino floor only folk who stay out there, I'd argue the majority of them are getting to the area via HWY 2 and pass through DL possibly spending money there. 

2. Employment- Between the hotel, indoor water park, restaurant, buffet, small concert venue, casino floor, security, maintenance, bar, gas station, marina, cabins, fishing guides, fish tournaments, holiday events...it's definitely a large employer for the smallish community. With that said, I've heard and seen the vast majority of the positions being tabbed for local tribe members first and foremost, and any non-tribe folks from DL or other local small towns are likely supplemental/secondary. This obviously wouldn't be as big of a factor in GF, as it would be in GF versus on a reservation. 

3. Community Impact - Between the small concerts, additional restaurant options, indoor pool, casino floor, marina, holiday events and fishing tournaments; it absolutely gives the community of boost of entertainment options and larger well-organized events etc. 

In summary - the overall opinion of the Casino on the local community is positive and likely always has been overall positive. There are always drawbacks to larger venues in smaller communities....especially Casinos, but the benefits to the local communities far outweigh the drawbacks from what I have seen and experienced. Grand Forks would be dumb to create any unnecessary hurdles for this opportunity. 

[geaux_sioux]

19 hours ago, nodak651 said:

City should put pickleball in there.

!@#$ pickleball 

[Kab]

Needs to be some kind of sales tax there for the city 

whatever is 9n GF should be there too ‘GF needs to cover its costs to have that casino there 

[ND-fan]

The need to have Columbia fixed seems to me to have casino built the two are tied together can’t there be.some economics put together free Columbia mall to new ownership and the city finally to start rebuilding there consumer shopping in the community. I have to think condition of Columbia mall there have to be some political solutions to force change of ownership and now if tied to casino there should be investors and money for this to happen. I would think this might be opportunity to fix major problem with Grand Forks because until this is fixed. It will limited Grand Forks growth for all sectors. Even for university and getting new employers to come to the area and retain younger generation want to live here.

[fightingsioux4life]

Just now, ND-fan said:

The need to have Columbia fixed seems to me to have casino built the two are tied together can’t there be.some economics put together free Columbia mall to new ownership and the city finally to start rebuilding there consumer shopping in the community. I have to think condition of Columbia mall there have to be some political solutions to force change of ownership and now if tied to casino there should be investors and money for this to happen. I would think this might be opportunity to fix major problem with Grand Forks because until this is fixed. It will limited Grand Forks growth for all sectors. Even for university and getting new employers to come to the area and retain younger generation want to live here.

Columbia Mall needs an owner that cares about it being successful.

[Brim006]

1 minute ago, fightingsioux4life said:

Columbia Mall needs an owner that cares about it being successful.

Malls in general are a dying breed, so this isn't unique to Grand Forks. I would say busy malls doing well are more rare than they are common in 2025. With that said, it either needs major change fast, or needs to be converted to something else fast. Most of the failing malls around the country have closed down or converted, so the Columbia Mall situation has been unique in that sense. No more dragging on a giant empty building. 

Giant food hall and beer hall with open seating areas seems to be an easy option for the main areas and smaller empty stores. TILT in Bismarck has done well in one of the old pillar large stores. 

[fightingsioux4life]

5 minutes ago, Brim006 said:

Malls in general are a dying breed, so this isn't unique to Grand Forks. I would say busy malls doing well are more rare than they are common in 2025. With that said, it either needs major change fast, or needs to be converted to something else fast. Most of the failing malls around the country have closed down or converted, so the Columbia Mall situation has been unique in that sense. No more dragging on a giant empty building. 

Giant food hall and beer hall with open seating areas seems to be an easy option for the main areas and smaller empty stores. TILT in Bismarck has done well in one of the old pillar large stores. 

Reinventing it is a great idea. That is just too much land being misused and/or being severely underutilized.

[Green Banner]

17 hours ago, Redneksioux said:

Didnt they spend more on their land purchase in Vegas?
 

Being this is out of gf city limits, the casino/hotel will avoid city taxes. If I read correctly their goal is sovereign land, so would no longer even be part of GF County. 
 

I’d be interested in perspective from Devils Lake residents and how Spirit Lake Casino benefits them. 

 

The city said they would annex the land into city limits for infrastructure.

[NewUndFan]

1 hour ago, ND-fan said:

The need to have Columbia fixed seems to me to have casino built the two are tied together can’t there be.some economics put together free Columbia mall to new ownership and the city finally to start rebuilding there consumer shopping in the community. I have to think condition of Columbia mall there have to be some political solutions to force change of ownership and now if tied to casino there should be investors and money for this to happen. I would think this might be opportunity to fix major problem with Grand Forks because until this is fixed. It will limited Grand Forks growth for all sectors. Even for university and getting new employers to come to the area and retain younger generation want to live here.

I dont see how the dead Columbia Mall and the Casino have anything to do with each other.   The mall is owned by a out of state company that clearly doesnt put anything into and is losing renters by the droves yearly.  Until now where there is very few businesses left in it.  I have seen people online bashing the mayor and city about trying to do something about it.  What can the city and mayor do with a privately owned business?   The other is a casino which is trying to bring a economic impact to our community.  I believe if the land is annexed into the city they will be contributing to the tax base.  If this casino fails, the tribe will be the ones baring the economic loss not the city.  The owners of the mall dont care about Grand Forks or what they are doing to the city, the tribe building a casino will contribute to the betterment of Grand Forks.  Yes I know they will also benefit, but I also believe they are trying to bring some new forms of entertainment to Grand Forks which we dont have.  I seen the axed the water park to not compete with the Canad Inn water park.  Until the owners of the mall finally sell there is nothing the city or mayor can do about it.  

[ND-fan]

I was it in other day look of condition there have to be code violations other mechanical things not up to standards the city can start applying pressure so the cost and hassle of not being in compliance becomes reasons to sell. Grand Forks needs to improve its shopping or people will continue to go to the south. My wife complains about selection and nobody selling different things in Grand Forks so she continues on to Fargo or goes on line to find the products. Grand Forks has demographics and regional shopping area to support number of stores but needs to have facilities to support businesses in prime area of shopping where the mall is located. The shopping is essential also for large designation casino they provide entertainment but people if they come and stay need full array of services to or they will go farther to find that. 

[TheFlop]

Letting a large chunk of land near the city like that go sovereign to Turtle Mountain would be an absolutely horrible idea.  Let them invest, see if they can get approval from the state for an exemption to build a casino, give them a long term permit if this thing passes, but for God's sake don't give up total control of that land.  

[jdub27]

1 hour ago, TheFlop said:

Letting a large chunk of land near the city like that go sovereign to Turtle Mountain would be an absolutely horrible idea.  Let them invest, see if they can get approval from the state for an exemption to build a casino, give them a long term permit if this thing passes, but for God's sake don't give up total control of that land.  

How does Dakota Magic down by the border work?
Obviously not near a larger population base, but similar off-reservation casino scenario.