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Action starts at Firekeepers Casino

Date Posted: August 14 2009

BATTLE CREEK – Michigan’s newest casino is open for business – the new $300 million Firekeepers Casino.

The 230,000 square-foot gaming facility opened to the public on Aug. 9, after a “soft” opening to tribal members and then construction personnel following the weekend of Aug. 1. Up to 300 Hardhats toiled on the casino under the management of Clark Construction, and under the terms of a project labor agreement that received wide praise.

“Everything went smooth,” said Southwest Michigan Building Trades President Hugh Coward. “There were a couple of bumps in the road, but all in all everything worked out very well.”

Said Clark Construction General Supt. Ken Stephenson: “The PLA performed well. We have no complaints. It was great. We would do it again in a heartbeat.”

Built by the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi on a cornfield near exit 104 off of I-94, the casino features 2,680 slot machines, 90 table games and 20 poker tables. Adjacent is a 2,500-space parking deck. And the work isn’t over: construction work is continuing at the casino site, with the addition of 24,000 square feet of office/warehouse space.

A hotel on the campus is being considered, but is currently only a “dotted line” on the blueprints, awaiting future income results by the casino.

The casino has five restaurants, including a 70-seat fine dining signature restaurant, a 300-seat buffet, and a 150-seat, 24- hour coffee shop.

“Today marked a new beginning for the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi,” said Tribal Chair Laura Spurr before 1,000 tribal members and guests. “The tribe’s goal has remained the same throughout the years. One goal has been to develop a casino to provide the economic development to assure that we can expand and improve health, housing and education services to our elders and youth. Another goal continues to be generating jobs for the Tribe and the region. We couldn’t have reached this historic milestone without the support of our tribal elders, tribal council and tribal members.”

Duane Wixson, senior project manager for Clark Construction, said like any major project, there was give and take on where to cut costs and where to spend money in the budget – but he said “the lighting budget was never compromised.” The casino spent $8 million on lighting, with a combination of LCD, LED, incandescent bulbs and florescent fixtures.

The lighting creates everything from dancing flames, to waves, to water droplets from the floor to the ceiling of the casino. And the lighting can be changed depending on the location, the time of day and the mood the casino wants to create.

“Basically nearly all this lighting is one of a kind, we hadn’t seen it before,” said Tom Sheaffer, electrical superintendent for the joint venture of Swan/Hunt. “It was a real treat working on it. Most of it was designed just for this project. Everybody is just so impressed with the lighting. It just blows your mind what’s in there.”

About 75 electricians worked on the project, which was designed by Creative Lighting Design.

“It’s a real showpiece for our work,” said IBEW Local 445 Business Manager Steve Claywell. “The PLA worked very well for us. There were a few wrinkles, but it was a real collaborative effort. You can see the results in the quality of the building.”


THE FIREKEEPERS CASINO in Battle Creek, two weeks before it opened to the public. We were not allowed to take photos of the finish work inside the $300 million casino.