Driven by unshakeable determination and perseverance, the
Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians will reach a major milestone this spring
with the opening of the first ultra-luxury hotel built by the Tribe.
The new $300 million Agua Caliente Casino • Resort • Spa
is located in the upscale desert enclave of Rancho Mirage, just a short distance
from the canyons in Palm Springs where this Tribe’s colorful history is
firmly rooted.
Upon completion, the resort hotel will offer 340 finely-appointed
guest rooms, an invigorating spa, hi-tech conference space, and fine dining just
steps away from the Tribe’s wildly popular casino.
Tribal Chairman Richard M. Milanovich said the hotel is
not simply a luxury resort, but a symbol of hope and hard work. “This is
a triumph for us—our people, as well as the community—to see this
beautiful hotel opening. It is a dream realized. And when we say we’re
Redefining Spectacular, we mean it.”
A LOOK BACK—The Beginning
The recent successes and future plans of the Agua Caliente
rely on the Tribe’s steadfast belief in something bigger.
For over 2,000 years, the Agua
Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians have viewed the natural hot springs located
below the present day hotel at Spa Resort Casino in Palm Springs to be a place
of power and healing.
It wasn’t until a United
States government survey in 1853 that the spring took on new meaning -- as a
place for tourism and profit, based on the healing properties of the waters and
the area’s dry desert air. What they the Tribe didn’t know
then was that the healing waters would also prove to be the key to their economic
success.
In the late 1880s, the first
of three bathhouses was built, drawing visitors from far and wide to soothe their
ailments in the natural mineral waters. Over the next 100 years, the Tribe would
lease and sometimes manage the property, as it grew from a dusty spring-fed stream
into a gleaming Hollywood hangout with the construction of the original “Spa” and
subsequent “Spa Hotel” in 1957 and 1960.
The late 1950s also marked the
start of the Agua Caliente Tribe’s push for more control and flexibility
in the use of their lands for profit. In 1959, a tenacious, all-woman Tribal
Council successfully lobbied Congress to allow the Tribe and its members to grant
long-term leases, up to 99 years.
In 1977, the Tribe gained more
momentum in the struggle to obtain fiscal stability with a U.S. Supreme Court
ruling which gave the Tribe complete jurisdiction over their lands. This
effectively brought the Agua Caliente Tribe to the table with the City of Palm
Springs when it came to development. Under a special land-use contract,
the City and Tribe would be permanently bound, shaping the future of this desert
oasis.
Despite the monumental accomplishments
of the Agua Caliente Tribe over those years, in the early 1990s, many of its
members still struggled. A survey conducted in 1993 showed more than half
of the Tribe’s 423 members lived at or below the poverty line.
That same year, the purchase
of the Spa Hotel, a location with deep roots in Agua Caliente tribal history,
set the stage for unprecedented business success.
After creating an 11-member development authority and obtaining
a loan from the Bureau of Indian affairs, the Tribe purchased the hotel for $9
million. Two years later, they opened a modest “casino” which
was little more than a tent with 200 slot machines and 12 gaming tables. It
was the start of Agua Caliente’s booming casino business.
Today, the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians owns and
operates two casino-resort properties: Spa Resort Casino in Palm Springs
and Agua Caliente Casino • Resort • Spa in Rancho Mirage.
Together, the casinos cover 75,000 square feet, offer 2,000
Class III slot machines, 67 table games and 19 poker tables. Both casinos
offer headline entertainment and fine dining, and have won numerous awards ranging
from Best Casino, Best Poker Room, and many“ Wine Spectator” awards
for their popular restaurants.
“What we have accomplished in the past ten years is
remarkable,” Chairman Milanovich said.
“When we started, our people were struggling; we,
as a Tribe, couldn’t even get a credit card at Kmart.” Now,
in addition to their casino holdings, the Tribe is also a partner in Canyon National
Bank, an entity they formed in partnership with 350 community shareholders in
1998.
“Today, Tribal members are prospering,” Milanovich
said. “They have a stable income and a multitude of Tribal-sponsored
services available including health, education and housing programs.”
LOOKING FORWARD— A Bright Future
With the fear of a recession tightening its grip on industries
like real estate and construction, the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians
is a source of stability for the local and state economies, as well as its members. The
Tribe has nearly 2,600 employees on a payroll that exceeds $100 million. As many
local businesses and housing developments downsize or shutter their doors, Agua
Caliente continues to grow.
Over the next ten years, the Tribe plans to invest a billion
dollars in new projects.
One of the most anticipated is the redevelopment of Spa
Resort Casino in Palm Springs. Through a series of acquisitions and consolidations,
the property will be transformed into a sprawling 5-star resort with a 420-room
luxury hotel, spa, fitness center and a 46,000 square-foot show room. The
present-day casino will expand by 60,000 square feet and an additional 40,000
square feet of commercial space will be built and leased. The project is expected
to be completed in 2010 and will serve the dual purpose of expanding the Tribe’s
business opportunities as well as supporting the revitalization of downtown Palm
Springs.
Other projects in the works include: a 2,000-seat headline
entertainment venue set to open this December adjacent to Agua Caliente Casino • Resort • Spa
in Rancho Mirage, a retail expansion project at the same location, two housing
developments in the Palm Springs area and the expansion of the Tribal Administration
Plaza offices. The Tribe also intends to break ground this year on a new
$40 million cultural museum featuring multiple galleries, an education center
and 150-seat theater. All of this, in addition to the two office complexes,
housing development and championship Indian Canyons Golf Resort the Tribe has
completed over the past 4 years.
This year, an annexation agreement also goes into effect
between the Tribe and the City of Rancho Mirage, allowing the Tribal land upon
which the new hotel stands to be included within the boundaries of the City. The
agreement allows the City to collect a 10% bed tax that would have otherwise
gone to the county, in exchange for emergency services. The Tribe will
also infuse the City’s coffers with $5 million to offset the impact of
increased traffic flow, and to generally improve and enhance the City the casino
now calls home.
GIVING BACK—Being a Good Neighbor
Because of the Tribe’s enormous success and because
of memories of a less prosperous time, the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians
has continually shared its good fortune with the local community. Every
April since the first casino in Palm Springs opened its doors, the Tribe has
contributed funds to local civic and public service agencies, youth groups, Veterans
organizations and more. Last April, the Tribe gave away $1.3 million, bringing
the total given away to $20 million since the program began in 1996.
The Agua Caliente Tribe is also making great strides to
protect the environment and their ancestral lands which are home to the magnificent
Tahquitz and Indian Canyons recreation areas. Last fall, the Tribe’s Planning
and Natural Resources Division completed a Tribal Habitat Conservation Plan. The
Plan identifies native plant and animal species in need of protection and delineates
procedures for mitigation of future development of their 31,500 acre reservation.
“We have accomplished so much in the past decade,” Milanovich
said. “We have created a stable foundation upon which our tribal
members and our community can build their future, allowing them to pursue their
dreams with confidence.”
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