A new 23-story hotel and other site upgrades at the Four Winds South Bend casino appear to be on track for an early 2023 completion.
Representatives for the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians led a media tour May 26 on the progress of the hotel project as well as site upgrades now underway.
“We are very pleased with the collective efforts of our Four Winds team members, our project manager, construction contractors, job site employees and vendors as we work towards completing the expansion of Four Winds South Bend,” said Frank Freedman, chief operating officer of Four Winds Casinos.
The main feature of the project is a new 317-room hotel, featuring 83 suites. The casino’s gaming floor also is being expanded.
Upgrades also include a spa, convention area with a ballroom and meeting space, a cafe, an outdoor swimming pool, and terraces. The casino expansion project has created 350 construction jobs with 10% being Native American preference, tribal representatives said.
The expanded casino property is expected to create between 350 and 400 new jobs once all work is finished and the new amenities are operational.
Scott Rice, general manager of Four Winds South Bend, said the expanded gaming floor which has more than 45,000 square feet, will include 850 slot machines, 11 table games, a new high limit area and an additional cage and cashier area.
The site’s new meeting space, which has been named the Ribbon Town Conference and Event Center, is a 24,000-square-foot-multi-use facility. The name Ribbon Town comes from the Pokagon Band’s reference to a portion of its homeland in the state of Indiana, which is now called South Bend.
The conference center has 16 meeting rooms, a ballroom with seating for 600, two pre-function bar areas, a business center, and outdoor pre-function space. The conference space also can accommodate live performances.
