Mashpee Wampanoag casino to break ground next month

The tribe announced that it has hired contractors Dimeo Construction Co., The Penta Building Group and Talako Construction LLC for the project and work is expected to begin April 5.

Located in the land of Liberty & Union Industrial Park, the process is expected to begin with demolition of existing buildings at the property and site work preparation, according to a statement from the tribe. The announcement comes as the Massachusetts Gaming Commission is considering whether to license a commercial casino in southeastern Massachusetts, an area known as Region C.

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The commission has scheduled a public meeting at tribal headquarters at 1 p.m. Tuesday for a presentation on the tribe’s plans.

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Neil Bluhm of Rush Street Gaming, a Chicago-based casino developer, is proposing a US$677m casino at the Brockton Fairgrounds through a company called Mass Gaming & Entertainment. At a public hearing last week, Bluhm insisted that a lawsuit, which he is helping to fund, would delay the tribe’s project.

A group of East Taunton residents are suing the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees the Bureau of Indian Affairs, for taking land into trust for the tribe. The suit alleges that the federal agency overstepped its authority in approving the land application, which included 155 acres in Taunton for a casino.

Bluhm told the gaming commission that investors wouldn’t take the risk while a lawsuit is pending.

The tribe has threatened legal action of its own if the commission licenses Bluhm’s project, citing the authorizing legislation for casinos and a tribal-state compact, which both include language that requires the state to take a tribal casino into consideration when deciding whether to open Region C to commercial casinos.

The commission has scheduled a public meeting at tribal headquarters at 1 p.m. Tuesday for a presentation on the tribe’s plans. The commission has some oversight of the operation, but won’t have an up or down vote on whether to authorize the project because tribal casinos are federally-regulated.