Shawnee Tribe buys land in Oklahoma City for casino

By Richard Mize
Real Estate Editor

Landless since 1869, federally recognized just since 2000, the Shawnee Tribe has a contract to buy property in Oklahoma City and wants to build a casino, hotel and other attractions, including a new tribal headquarters — but the tribe does not have the support of the mayor. The restored tribe, now headquartered in Miami, OK, plans to develop 104 acres on the west side of Interstate 35 between Britton Road and Wilshire Boulevard as part of Oklahoma City’s Adventure District, said Greg Pitcher, chairman of Shawnee Development LLC, the tribe’s economic development arm.

Mayor Mick Cornett said he isn’t sure a casino is in Oklahoma City’s best interest.

Britton Road Development LLC, a group of Milwaukee-area investors, paid $4.5 million for the land, Pitcher said. The seller was Premier Assets. The tribe will ask the U.S. Department of the Interior to consider the land for trust status later this year or in early 2008, he said. The tribe has contracted to take title to the land if trust status is approved, he said. Such a contract is enough or the tribe to seek trust status, he said.