The River Cree Resort and Casino, Edmonton, Alta. has announced its $200M expansion—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 the 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,” says Vik Mahajan, CEO, 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 18,000 square feet, which is about 8,000 bigger than the biggest one that exists in Edmonton. We’ll also have an outdoor patio about 9,000 square feet,” says Mahajan.
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. 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.
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.
The hotel expansion is set to open Spring 2027.
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