The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC) tribe owns and operates the Mystic Lake Casino Hotel which is located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The tribe recently announced that it plans to add a brand new hotel and convention center to the southwest Twin Cities and expects construction to start by April 2016.

The new hotel and convention center will be a part of the Mystic Lake Casino Hotel and is expected to be opened to the public by the end of 2017. The convention center will be spread across 70,000 square feet and include 2 big ballrooms and a number of smaller meeting rooms that business officials can use. The hotel will have 9 floors and have a total of 180 premier rooms, many of which will overlook the Meadows at Mystic Lake, which is a championship golf course. The new extension project will focus only on a hotel and state of the art convention center and will not involve any additional space for gaming.

Once the project is completed, it will turn the Mystic Lake Casino Hotel into the 3rd biggest hotel in Minneapolis and the 2nd biggest hotel in the metro area. The new project will create around 400 construction and part-time jobs which will be filled by locals and then an additional 100 permanent jobs once the facility is opened. Tribal leaders along with casino management are currently in the process of reviewing and finalizing on a contractor.

In a statement, Edward Stevenson, president and CEO of the SMSC Gaming Enterprise said “We are always working to identify new opportunities that will enhance Mystic Lake Casino Hotel as a full-service resort. Adding this first-class hotel tower and convention space will meet the growing demand and help set the tone for our 25th anniversary in 2017.” SMSC Gaming Enterprise is responsible for running operations at both the Little Six and Mystic Lake casinos.

The tribe also confirmed that they had approved a budget to give the existing rooms at the Mystic Lake Casino Hotel an upgrade. This will be given priority and the re-modification of the existing hotel rooms is expected to be finished before the end of 2015. The new hotel and convention center is also expected to bring in a number of corporate customers who will want to make use of the new facilities and that will in turn also result in more patrons for the casino.