SOUTH BEND — The Bureau of Indian Affairs has approved plans by the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians for a $400 million hotel and casino in South Bend.
A press conference on the decision featuring tribal Chairman John Warren, tribal council members, Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Common Council member Oliver Davis is set for 11 a.m. Tuesday at Four Winds Field.
According to a media alert, Warren and others will deliver “(r)emarks related to the decision by the Bureau of Indian Affairs to take into trust 166 acres of Pokagon Band land located between Prairie Avenue, U.S. 31 and Locust Road in the city of South Bend.”
Asked to comment on the decision Wednesday, David Gutierrez, a spokesman for the band with Dresner Corporate Services out of Chicago, told a reporter, “I can’t give you any details about the application process until Tuesday.”
Paige Risser, director of communications for the band, said in an email Wednesday, “We don’t have a statement right now.”
Buttigieg and Davis, D-District 6, did not return calls seeking comment. The project would be located in Davis’ District.
The decision has not been posted on the federal register, but a copy obtained by The Tribune on Wednesday is dated Nov. 17.