Leaders of an effort to bring a casino to Cedar Rapids will provide more details about their plans at a news conference Monday.
Representatives of Peninsula Pacific Entertainment (P2E) and the Linn County Gaming Association (LCGA) will speak at a news conference at 2 p.m. Monday at the DoubleTree Hotel in downtown Cedar Rapids.
During this event, P2E, LCGA and local government leaders will share details about their plans for the proposed Cedar Crossing Casino and Entertainment Center, including new external renderings, information about casino amenities, data from a new gaming market study and the casino’s possible economic impact on the state.
After the news conference, a shuttle will transport media representatives to the proposed Cedar Crossing casino site, between F and I Avenue NW and First and Fifth Streets NW – the former home of Cooper’s Mill – to provide more information on the proposal.
Speakers at the news conference will include P2E executive Jonathan Swain, LCGA president Anne Parmley, Cedar Rapids Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell, Linn County Board of Supervisors chair Kirsten Running-Marquardt and Cedar Rapids/Iowa City Building Trades Council president Mike Sadler.
Peninsula Pacific and the Linn County Gaming Association jointly submitted an application for a casino gaming license to the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission in August.
As proposed, Cedar Crossing, with a budget now estimated at $275 million, would incorporate Iowa’s 20th state-licensed casino, as well as bars and restaurants featuring celebrity chefs.
The door was opened for a new Linn County gaming license application after a two-year state gaming license moratorium imposed by the Iowa Legislature was allowed to expire June 30.
The IRGC has twice rejected casino proposals for Linn County, in 2014 and 2017, after commissioners largely sided with opponents who argued the state’s gaming market was saturated and a new Linn County casino would substantially “cannibalize” revenue from existing state-licensed casinos.
But all five members of the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission are newly-appointed since the last decision. And Linn County voters have approved two referendums supporting gaming in Linn County, most recently in November 2021.
As a result of the second vote, developers are now allowed to seek a casino license for the county in perpetuity, without returning to voters for further approvals.
The IRGC chose two vendors in August to conduct market studies on the impact of a new casino on the state’s gaming landscape.
The Linn County Gaming Association and P2E will formally present their plans for the Cedar Rapids casino to the IRGC at their meeting Oct. 3 at the Isle of Capri Casino in Bettendorf.
The commission is slated to vote in a special meeting Feb. 6, 2025 whether to approve or reject the Linn County gaming license application.
