Mystic Lake will add a second hotel and convention center to its entertainment complex near Prior Lake, the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community and Mystic Lake Casino Hotel announced Wednesday.
Both elements of the development will be positioned on the northwest end of the existing structures, offering views of the golf course, the Meadows at Mystic Lake. They will not include gaming.
The new, nine-story hotel will have 180 rooms, while the new 70,000-square-foot convention center will have two ballrooms and several breakout meeting rooms, with a three-story glass atrium facing the golf course.
Construction is expected to begin in April, and the expansion is slated to be ready for guests and visitors by the end of 2017.
Growing demand was the catalyst for the project, according to Edward Stevenson, president and chief executive of the SMSC Gaming Enterprise.
This will be the fourth-largest hotel conferencing center in the Twin Cities metro area, behind Hyatt Regency Minneapolis, Hilton Minneapolis and the DoubleTree by Hilton in Bloomington. The expansion will have outdoor patio space and an executive boardroom with a balcony.
The casino opened in May 1992, followed by the first hotel and convention center in 1996. That meeting and hotel space, which celebrates its 20-year anniversary next year, is undergoing a complete remodeling to give it a more modern aesthetic. Those renovations will be complete by the end of the year.
Some of the existing 67,000 square feet of meeting space will be repurposed for other use.
Because the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community is a sovereign Indian tribe, the plan does not need to receive any city approvals. The tribal government recently approved the plans. The project is expected to create about 400 construction jobs and about 100 permanent jobs. The expansion is designed by Worth Group Architects & Designers of Denver.
Kristen Leigh Painter • 612-673-4767
