Bonners Ferry hotel-casino expansion planned

The Kootenai Tribe will embark on a major expansion of its Bonners Ferry casino and hotel this fall, spending several million dollars to replace older model gaming machines and add convention space.

“We have a lot of tribal functions that we do there, and we’ve long outgrown that little bingo room,” said Velma Bahe, a member of the Kootenai Tribal Council.

In addition, the tribe wants to generate more convention business for the 65-room hotel on U.S. Highway 95, Bahe said. The Kootenai River Inn & Casino is the largest hotel property in Boundary County. It already plays host to a number of inter-tribal meetings, but space for larger conferences is limited, she said.

The expansion will create seating for up to 300 banquet-goers in two dining rooms overlooking the Kootenai River. A smaller meeting room will accommodate 50 people, said Tom Turpin, general manager of the Kootenai River Inn.

The tribe will also replace many of its older gaming machines with new models, though the overall number of machines will remain unchanged at 400, Turpin said. The work should be finished by spring.

The expansion follows a wave of recent investment in Indian gaming facilities, following the 2002 passage of an Idaho ballot initiative allowing current forms of tribal gaming to continue.

The Coeur d’Alene Tribe recently completed a $15 million expansion that doubled the size of its hotel in Worley, and added 400 new video gaming machines. Funding for the Coeur d’Alene’s project hit a snag in 2001, when the Idaho Legislature rejected an Indian gaming compact crafted by the governor and the tribes. The action cast a legal cloud over the future of Indian gaming in the state, which lifted when the initiative passed.

Like the Coeur d’Alenes, the Kootenai Tribe waited until the legal issues were resolved before moving forward with the expansion, Bahe said.

“We didn’t want to put out our money until we knew for sure what would happen,” she said.

Renovations at the Kootenai River Inn began this spring with a $500,000 remodel of the hotel rooms. New furniture, fixtures, artwork and lighting gave the rooms more of a luxury feel, and added a Native American flair to the décor.

The second phase of the expansion, which begins after Labor Day, includes a permanent building for part of the gaming operation currently housed in temporary quarters, Turpin said. Coeur d’Alene architect Rann Haight designed a sculpted river that will flow across a vaulted ceiling through the room, representing the tribe’s historic ties to the Kootenai River. The river will end in a live waterfall.

“We think it will put the Kootenai River Inn on a list of must-see places for the area,” Haight said in a statement.

The Kootenai River Inn employs more than 150 people, making it one of Boundary County’s largest employers. It is privately owned by the tribe, and managed by Hagadone Hospitality.

Later this year, construction will begin on a 325-foot pedestrian underpass linking the hotel and casino to Bonner Ferry’s downtown. Highway 95 currently separates the two, and it’s illegal to cross that stretch of highway on foot. The $606,000 project will be financed by the tribe, the city, and the state.

“It will help link the two economies, the downtown and the Kootenai River Inn & Casino,” said Robin Ponsness, director of the Boundary County Economic Development Council.