Emerald Queen Casino Construction

In the summer of 2018, construction began on a brand-new $310 million casino scheduled to open in December 2019. In addition to 310,000 square feet of space for gaming, the building will also feature a 2,000-seat events center, three restaurants and a second parking garage. Come December 2019, a new casino with all the bling of Las Vegas will open along Interstate 5. That’s the assessment of the Puyallup Tribe as it builds its new $370 million Emerald Queen Casino. The Emerald Queen casinos’ gross gaming revenue in 2007 was $275.5 million, according to the report. That was $79.5 million less than what the auditors considered to be its fair share.

Emerald Queen Casino Construction

By Guest Author, Brett Ewing, AIA, NCARB
Architectural Photography by Doug Walker Photography

Emerald Queen Casino Construction

The new Emerald Queen Casino balances the eye-catching flash of a Las Vegas-style resort with memorable references to Puyallup Tribal culture.

The 310,000-square-foot facility, which opened June 8, relocates the tribe’s existing gaming operations to a highly visible site along Interstate 5 near downtown Tacoma, Washington.

The full-service gaming facility includes approximately 100,000 square feet of slots and table games, a 2,000-seat event center, five food and beverage venues and two parking garages with direct access to the gaming floor.

Raising the Bar

The design and integration of Emerald Queen Casino into Tacoma’s urban infrastructure sets a ground-breaking precedent for the future of gaming. As Tribes begin pursuing developments closer to cities to increase their return on investment, new solutions are necessary for an urban site to accommodate the expanse of a gaming floor.

The project utilizes an innovative solution to fitting a large gaming facility gracefully within the urban fabric. Due to site and infrastructure constraints, the gaming floor and amenities are strategically placed four levels above the ground floor, spanning over two city streets and supported structurally by two parking garages. This approach creates a breathtaking building that is highly visible from the highway and provides panoramic views to downtown and to the culturally significant Mt. Rainier and Puget Sound.

Emerald Queen Casino reclaims the lost space above a restrictive city grid, effectively modifying the footprint of traditional gaming facilities. The design team implemented original strategies and navigated the limitations of air rights to design within the legal parameters of upward urban development. The casino breaks the rules of traditional gaming design and paves the way to a new future for urban Tribal entertainment facilities.

There are growing opportunities for Tribes across the country to build gaming facilities within urban settings on unclaimed land trusts. Emerald Queen Casino is the first of its kind to build above ground spanning multiple sites and streets.

Celebrating Culture within Design

Emerald Queen Casino brings the glitz and glamour of a Las Vegas-style resort to the Pacific Northwest, while paying homage to Puyallup Tribal culture. The design team collaborated with Puyallup cultural leaders to develop an interior design concept that celebrates and tells the story of the relationship between culture and Tribal land base. Coast Salish artwork created by Puyallup Tribal members is featured throughout the facility.

Guests experience both the flash of Las Vegas and the Puyallup Tribe’s rich history concurrently. When approaching the entrance, patrons are received with open arms by two wooden welcoming figures, carved in the style of the regional Tribes of the Pacific Northwest by Puyallup Tribal member Shaun Peterson. The figures’ outstretched arms and upward palms signify welcome and acceptance.

The casino also distinguishes itself among the major players in the gaming industry by incorporating large windows and daylighting into the gaming floor, maintaining guests’ connection with nature and providing sweeping views of Mt. Rainier, Puget Sound and downtown Tacoma.

The casino’s interior is finely crafted through many layers of functional and aesthetic considerations. From the organization of the casino floor, to the fluid ribbon geometry and the carefully selected materials – every aspect of the design contributes to an exciting, immersive and vibrant experience, emblematic of Las Vegas.

The food venues are strategically positioned along the casino perimeter, which allows for an open and flexible layout of the gaming floor. Curving pathways take casino guests on a journey and amplify their sense of discovery.

Ribbon ceiling elements draw visitors deeper into the space and highlight a rich elegance and feeling of luxury through the use of thousands of sparkling crystals, highly reflective finishes and dynamic lighting.

Many elements of the design are purposefully organic, which allows for renewed experiences as people move around the gaming floor and unites Las Vegas glamour with culturally-informed design.

Interior elements subtly weave in and draw influence from the textures, shapes and colors of the mountain, river, forests and sound that define Puyallup Tribal land. Traditional and contemporary Puyallup art, cultural patterns and language adorn the casino. Additional pieces of artwork by Peterson, including a mural and story poles, ornament the casino’s interior. From the bold black and red exterior to the organic textures that give life to the interior, a powerful, modern and resilient Puyallup culture is expressed.

Puyallup Tribe’s New Emerald Queen Casino

Posted on: January 30, 2020

Puyallup Tribal News staff writer


The sounds of construction – deep rumbles, clanks and beep-beep-beeps of heavy equipment – are happening outside the Puyallup Tribe’s new Emerald Queen Casino.


Inside the building, the noises are a little more muted – zings of drills, swishes of furniture moving furniture and spritzing of cleaning bottles.


Crews are knocking out punch list items for the Puyallup Tribe’s new 310,000-square-foot casino, which is set to open soon.


Queen

Emerald Queen Casino Construction Plans

How soon? Tribal officials aren’t quite ready to give an opening date. Right now, it’s “early 2020.” As with any major construction project, equipment tests, final permits and many other details will play into the new casino’s opening day.

The Puyallup Tribal News recently took a hard hat tour of the site, led by Emerald Queen General Manager Frank Wright.

“There are very few casinos, even in Las Vegas, that are nicer than this one,” he said.


Located at 2920 East R St., Tacoma, Wash., the nearly $400 million facility boasts glamour, glitz and state-of-the-art technology. It is projected to pump $1.5 billion into the local economy during the next decade.


“The casino will be a vibrant touch to this whole city,” said Puyallup Tribal Vice Chairman Bill Sterud. “We are turning it into a tourist destination.”


The casino was designed by Cuningham Group Architecture, and general contractor Absher-Kitchell is overseeing construction. The Wenaha Group is serving as the owner’s representative.


The casino will feature:

  • Five restaurants, including a small café, a fine dining restaurant, a buffet, a coffee shop, and a sports bar. The restaurants are named the Summit Sports Bar, the Riverbank Buffet, the Waterway Deli, puyaləpabš café and the Paddle Wheel Coffee & Bakery.
  • Puyallup tribal member traditional and contemporary artwork, including murals, paintings and architectural elements featuring Coast Salish design.
  • A 2,000-seat, 21,000-square-foot concert venue and event center.
  • Environmentally friendly building elements. For example, the concrete that was used contains a recycled material that was diverted from landfills, and the building was designed to meet or beat the state’s energy code requirements. One of the biggest ways the building is reducing its carbon footprint is through its state-of-the-art HVAC system. The system is designed to take advantage of natural air flow and movements, so it removes smoke from the building without using as much energy as a traditional HVAC system.
  • An enormous LED screen, visible from Interstate 5. The screen is 32 by 147 feet.
  • Parking galore. In addition to a four-story parking garage attached to the casino, the tribe is building parking for an additional 700 vehicles in the adjacent 150-200-room hotel that’s under construction next door. (The hotel is set to open in mid-2020.) Both garages will have a total capacity of more than 1,300 vehicles.

Planning and infrastructure work for the Puyallup Tribe Emerald Queen Casino began 15 years ago, Wright said.


“We could have jumped in and built this casino a lot earlier but we wouldn’t have been able to build something as nice,” he said. “We stayed in a tent quite a few years and made a lot of money so we could prove to the lenders, the banks, that we had the ability to run a big operation.”


With two locations in Fife and along Interstate 5 in Tacoma, the Emerald Queen employs nearly 2,200 people. The new casino is expected to generate about 230 more jobs, and the new hotel is expected to add 35 jobs.


The new casino will replace the current Tacoma I-5 casino, which is a former bingo hall with three large adjoining tents. The Fife location will remain open.


“This is the culmination of a lot of work, of a lot of amazing people over many years,” said Puyallup Tribal Chairman David Z. Bean. “It’s the realization of their vision just to bring a first-class facility for our gamers here in the Northwest.”


Officials are planning to hold a soft opening for the tribe’s members. Council member Annette Bryan said she wants it to be a big party, to celebrate a project that involved tribal community input and involvement.


“I’m anxious to get it open,” Sterud added. “And I am proud of all of the work that has been done to reach this point.”

Emerald Queen Casino Construction Project


Puyallup Tribal member Katie Manzanares contributed to this report.


By the numbers:

$1.5 billion: The economic impact the Puyallup Tribe’s new casino is expected to bring to the area during the next decade.

$372 million: The new casino’s estimated construction cost.

310,000 square feet: The size of the new casino.

Emerald Queen Casino Construction Schedule

21,000 square feet: The size of the new 2,000-seat event center inside the casino.

2,450: Estimated number of Emerald Queen employees, once the new casino and hotel open.

Emerald Queen Casino Construction 2018

15 years: The amount of time it took to make the new Emerald Queen a reality.