Queen of Terre Haute casino cost now $290 million; see new renderings

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — The Queen of Terre Haute Casino Resort will cost $290 million to complete, up from its original $260 million cost estimate.

Ryan Jordan, Churchill Downs Incorporated’s Senior Vice President of Real Estate Development, said the change is due to current industry costs.

“The construction industry has been subjected to increases in materials and labor costs,” Jordan said in a direct statement sent to WTWO-TV. “The increase in costs to our project is tied to the prices we are quoted from the various subcontractors who will provide equipment, materials and labor for the construction.”

Jordan also shared two big updates to the project.

“First, we added an additional restaurant concept to the main casino floor,” Jordan said. “The initial design included a steakhouse and a grab-and go offering. We added a more traditional sit-down casual restaurant to supplement the food and beverage offerings.”

The second change in design centered around the rooftop pool, moving it from its originally planned location to the ground level.

“This was done for a few reasons,” Jordan explained. “Our initial site was approximately 20 acres and we were limited because we needed to provide sufficient parking for guests. That led to the initial small rooftop pool.  With the larger site where we are building today, we felt that we could improve the pool experience by making the pool larger and also offering a larger pool deck for guests.”

Jordan added the pool will be able to be open longer since it will be “less subjected to bad weather and winds”.

“The other benefit by removing the pool from the rooftop was that it created more patio space for our Altitude Bar and Lounge concept on the rooftop,” Jordan said. “The outdoor rooftop patio will now offer lounge seating around fire pits and create an upscale outdoor space to compliment the indoor bar and lounge.”

Jordan also said CDI will pay for some road construction needs around the casino site.

“We are funding the extension of New Margaret Ave from where it currently ends at Sycamore Terrace St. to the north casino entrance,” Jordan shared. “This will provide two direct access roads from State Road 46 for guests to access the casino.”

Jordan shared in a presentation to the Indiana Gaming Commission on Thursday that the opening date for the casino resort is still slated for March 2024.

In the presentation, Jordan also included an update that CDI had received final approval from the FAA for the height of the casino, which was moved down slightly from its original 150-foot plan to 141 feet.