Kalispel Tribe announces casino expansion plan

The Northern Quest Resort and Casino plans to add 440 new hotel rooms.

US.- The Kalispel Tribe has announced a plan to expand its Northern Quest Resort and Casino in Washington state next year.

The tribe plans to add five connected buildings to respond to the “consistently high occupancy” it has seen in recent years.

The extension will cover 160,000 square feet and add 440 new hotel rooms to the property. The tribe said it would create more than 150 jobs.

The property reopened in May after closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was able to reopen before other casinos in the state since it is located on sovereign land run by the Kalispel Tribe.

The Northern Quest general manager, Nick Pierre, acknowledged that the pandemic has impacted on business but said he was optimistic of a sharp recovery.

Pierre said in a statement: “while meetings and events business has taken a big hit in the past eight months, we are confident things will bounce back in the coming months and years, returning us to the kind of demand we were seeing in 2019 and early 2020.”

The tribe hopes to begin the expansion in March 2020 and have the project complete by early 2023.