“This is convention business - it’s an entirely different business altogether.”Įven before it was anywhere near completion, Sneed said, the convention center had been booking events and hotel rooms for years in the future. “When we first talked about this project, there were a lot of naysayers actually, saying, well, this is just more gaming. This project is an opportunity to do that, he said. Throughout his time in office, Sneed has repeatedly emphasized the inevitable arrival of competition in the gaming industry and the resulting need to diversify the tribe’s revenue streams. In his remarks, Sneed made it clear that he sees the convention center as distinct from the casino’s current operations - it’s an entirely new business that will attract an entirely new clientele to Cherokee, he said. Joined by members of Tribal Council, Principal Chief Richard Sneed cuts the ribbon on the expansion. The center includes a 32,000-square-foot ballroom, as well as a pre-function ballroom, 26 meeting spaces and an exhibition hall, with a new 2,000-space parking deck directly adjacent to it. Tribal Council has again delayed approving long-term funding for its cannabis enterprise…Īdjacent to the hotel tower is the new three-story Cherokee Convention Center, featuring 83,000 square feet of meeting and convention space - more than tripling the current rentable convention space at Harrah’s Cherokee.
