The River Cree Resort and Casino is expanding to include a new tower of hotel rooms, a pool, more conference rooms and food options.
It’s the latest economic announcement from the First Nation community directly west of Edmonton that in recent years has built medical offices and strip malls, and is in the process of constructing a private clinic to perform thousands of hip and knee surgeries.
The resort on the Enoch Cree Nation, just to the south of Whitemud Drive and west of Winterburn Road, is adding a $200-million expansion to the initial facility built nearly 20 years ago.
A groundbreaking ceremony was held Friday to mark the start of the project.
The new construction includes 230 hotel rooms in an 18-storey tower, including more than 30 luxury suites.
“The rooms are phenomenal. The bathrooms will all have a walk-in shower and a bathtub. So something that really doesn’t exist in the city right now,” said Vik Mahajan, CEO of River Cree Resort & Casino.
There will also be a new pool with two waterslides and a large hot tub, along with more than 40,000 square feet of event space.
“The conference space is going to be bi level — downstairs and upstairs. The largest ballroom is going to be about 18,000ft², which is about 8,000 bigger than the biggest one that exists in Edmonton. We’ll also have an outdoor patio about 9,000ft²,” Mahajan said.
The River Cree said there will also be a new banquet kitchen to support the expanded event space, another full service restaurant and bar, and a few other food outlets to which the details are still being nailed down.
When River Cree opened in 2006, Enoch partnered with Las Vegas-based Paragon Gaming for what was supposed to be a period of 25 years and the hotel was run by Marriott.
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But in 2014, Enoch bought out Paragon’s interest and assumed full ownership of what was considered by some to be one of the most significant First Nation economic development projects in the country.
“We had the Marriott here first, and they were great partners, great operators. But ever since, the Nation has taken over 100 per cent management, everything that we do has a cultural significance to it,” Mahajan said.
Enoch is proud of how self-sufficient River Cree has become, officials said on Friday, adding it provides many jobs for members of the First Nation.
“As we break ground on this new chapter, we celebrate not just the physical expansion of our resort but also the continued growth and empowerment of our people,” Enoch Chief Cody Thomas said at Friday’s event.
The expansion isn’t just significant for Enoch, Mahajan said, but for will also boost economic prosperity for Edmonton and the province.
“It’ll give Enoch an international kind of standing and there is a lot of business that we turn away,” Mahajan said. “We want to be able to house everybody, bring them to Enoch, showcase our culture and show them luxury that they haven’t seen in the city.”
Enoch Cree Nation chief and council said the expansion will be completely self-funded and won’t rely on the nation or the provincial and federal government.
“The nation is working with the financiers that will finance it,” Mahajan said, adding the project will generate enough revenue to take care of its own debt. “There’s no debt servicing from any other additional funds from the Nation.
“This project is going to take care of its own.”
The River Cree said the focus is to not only serve adult patrons, but families and youth.
Enoch said the expansion represents the continuing building of economic prosperity on Enoch and serves as a blueprint of potential for other first nations.
“You know, 100 years from now, our children, our great-grandchildren are going to see the benefits of this expansion,” said Enoch Coun. John Thomas.
“We’re going to be an economic powerhouse.”
Thomas said while the First Nation does receive federal funding for other initiatives, the River Cree expansion is coming from open-source funding.
“We’ve been able to go out there and find those partners to help us build these beautiful things,” he said, adding being right on the edge of Edmonton is a benefit.
“Enoch itself is very blessed — in obviously location, where we’re located — that helps sustain a business such as this.”
To support the resort expansion, Chief Lapotac Boulevard connecting River Cree to Winterburn Road will be twinned and there will be new paved roads to the south and west of the resort.
“A lot of the nation has still doesn’t have paved roads. So they’ve been expanding that, Ellis Don has been working with the Nation to expand the road all the way to the village and so on,” Mahajan said.
The hotel expansion is set to open Spring 2027.
Top Golf coming to Alberta, Enoch working to revive shuttered golf course
On Friday, officials said golf options are also coming over the next two years.
Enoch used to have a course called Indian Lakes, on the west side of the nation along Highway 60, but it closed a decade ago for safety reasons when unexploded munitions from when the land was a practice bombing range for Allied forces during World War II were discovered.
“We’re currently working on rebuilding our golf course,” said Enoch Coun. John Thomas.
Chief Thomas told Global News the work will happen over the next two years.
The community aims to have Indian Lake’s driving range and the front nine holes open in 2025 and the full open course of 18 holes operational again in 2026.
Work is already underway — in recent weeks, the old clubhouse was torn down and cleanup work observed from the highway.
A Top Golf is in the works to be built west of the resort — the company’s first Canadian location.
Top Golf is an American-based entertainment company, owned by golf giant Callaway, that combines a traditional driving range with the technology of virtual golf, and also serves food and drinks.
Thomas said Enoch’s Top Golf location is expected to open sometime in 2026.
The River Cree said down the road, there are also plans to construct a 6,000-person multipurpose sportex arena that could host a variety of sporting events and concerts.
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