Construction continues on the Ho-Chunk Nation’s casino and resort project in Beloit, Wisconsin, with tribal leaders maintaining a target opening date of Sept. 26, 2026, for the casino portion of the development. Crews began work on the site in October 2024 at the southeast corner of Willowbrook and Colley roads near Interstate 39-90.

The Beloit project carries a reported cost of $705 million and is expected to become the second-largest casino in Wisconsin once completed. Plans call for a large gaming facility featuring 1,500 slot machines, 40 table games, a sportsbook, four restaurants and a casino bar. The gaming floor alone will cover more than 240,000 square feet, according to WIFR.

A later construction phase includes an 18-story hotel with 312 rooms along with a conference center slated to open in 2027. Earlier project descriptions had referenced a hotel with more than 200 rooms, though officials noted final plans could increase room capacity depending on market demand. Once all phases are complete, the combined casino, hotel, convention center and parking structure are projected to total 1.2 million square feet.

Federal approval for the Beloit casino arrived in May 2022 following state approval granted by Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers in March 2021. A gaming compact between the Ho-Chunk Nation and Wisconsin later received federal approval in late 2024. Under that agreement, the tribe will contribute 5% of annual gross gaming revenue to the state, 1.4% to the City of Beloit and 0.6% to Rock County.

The Beloit property will become the seventh casino operated by the Ho-Chunk Nation, joining existing gaming properties in Black River Falls, Madison, Nekoosa, Tomah, Baraboo and Wittenberg.

Regional Competition Influences Expansion Plans

The Beloit development has also influenced decisions roughly 20 miles south at Hard Rock Casino Rockford in Illinois. Hard Rock leaders recently announced plans to move forward with a hotel and convention center project after years of considering expansion.

Hard Rock Casino Rockford President Geno Iafrate acknowledged the impact the Beloit casino could have on the Illinois property once it opens.

“Everyone knows we have competition, new competition entering the market 18 miles to the north of us,” said Iafrate. “We would be blind if we didn’t think there would be an impact.”

Hard Rock estimates the Beloit casino could reduce its revenue by as much as 20%. In response, the company plans to break ground later this year on a hotel development connected to the casino at 7801 E. State St. in Rockford.

The planned addition includes between 200 and 225 hotel rooms, a spa, fitness center, luxury VIP suites, extra dining options and a 15,000-square-foot conference center. Hard Rock aims to open the hotel in late 2027.

“We have to defend Hard Rock Casino Rockford and we have to defend this region, and we’re going to do so by expanding,” Iafrate said. “We’re going to create a new development, a new hotel and convention center that is going to stabilize that revenue impact.”

Rockford city officials support the expansion because the city receives 70% of the casino’s gambling tax revenue in addition to property and sales tax collections. Hard Rock employs more than 900 workers with an annual payroll exceeding $45 million.

Rockford’s City Council is expected to consider authorizing $90 million in bond proceeds, with a total bond amount of $103 million, to support construction financing. The debt would be repaid solely by Hard Rock.

“Do we wait and do we see what that impact will be? Or do we take action and strengthen our collective position and continue growing together? I believe we must build on our momentum and deepen this partnership so we can grow revenue and expand our impact,” McNamara said.

Iafrate said earlier plans to include a hotel during the casino’s original construction were delayed by pandemic-era supply chain disruptions and rising costs.

“Given the fact that COVID happened right in the middle of the licensing and the design and the construction of this facility, it became a challenge to be able to fit the hotel into phase one, or act one, of this casino development,” Iafrate said. “But we have not given up on the fact that at hotel is a necessary asset and needs to be here as soon as possible.”

Local Leaders Expect Economic Impact

Ho-Chunk Nation President Jon Greendeer said the Beloit development will create more than 1,000 jobs while also generating opportunities for local businesses and vendors.

“It’s the mom-and-pop businesses that really benefit by having an industry this large coming in— we can’t utilize someone from Minneapolis or Chicago it has to be someone right at home,” said Greendeer.

The tribe has already started holding hiring events as construction progresses toward the 2026 opening.

Greendeer also emphasized the cultural significance of the Beloit area to the Ho-Chunk Nation. Tribal artwork, design elements and historical references are expected throughout the casino and resort property.

“We never really left there,” he said. “It’s still a cultural landscape.”

Greendeer dismissed concerns about increased competition in the gaming industry, arguing that the Beloit casino already provides regional value.

“We are the best gaming industry in the Midwest without a doubt,” said Greendeer. “As far as competition goes, we’ve already won in terms of making sure that we’re a benefit to both the state of Illinois and the state of Wisconsin, Rock County, and the city of Beloit. We’ve already established that. We are not taking our money and sending it somewhere else. We’re trying to keep that together so that we can all win together.”

South Beloit Mayor Tom Fitzgerald said he expects additional traffic and business activity from the Beloit casino project, although his city will not directly receive casino profits.

“It would make me more excited if we got part of the profits, but we are not,” said Fitzgerald. “We’re kind of sitting at the sidelines watching everybody else make money.”