On April 9, 2013 there was a court hearing in Phoenix on the issue of the proposed Tohono O’odham casino. From the reporting that has occurred Judge Campbell’s mind appears to be made up and it does not bode well for the State, the Gila River tribe or Glendale. Today I begin a series on the proposed Tohono O’odham casino. It’s proposed location is in a County island within the borders of Glendale, Arizona. We’ll look at geography and where the proposed casino sits in relation to other sites within Glendale. I created this map. It is not to scale but it does demonstrate the relative position of other, established development to the proposed casino site. Unfortunately, this site does not allow for a larger image. If you would like to see a larger version, email clarkjv@aol.com and I will send it to you as a jpg. file.
Perhaps the most important piece of geographical information is that the proposed casino will be approximately less than a 1/2 mile north of the Westgate site and Jobing.com arena. Another piece of the puzzle is the number of homes nearby:
There are 4 high density residential sites. Two of them are near Cabelas, directly south of and adjacent to the proposed casino site, for a total of approximately 800 units. The two other high density sites are in Westgate and are another approximately 800 units.
Now, add to those 1600 apartment units, these nearby residential communities: 
Provenance (across 91st Avenue and within 1/4 mile) with 120 homes; Rovey Farm Estates (across 91st Avenue and witin 1/4 mile) with 800+ homes; Broadway (within a mile) with 60+ homes; Pendergast Estates (within a mile) with 60+ homes; and Desert Mirage/La Buena Vida (within a mile) with 1200+ homes. That’s a total of 3,840 residential units in close proximity to the proposed casino. The recognized multiplier of residents per home is 2.5. Multiply those units by 2.5 persons per unit and that equates to 9,600 or almost 10,000 people living in very close
proximity to the proposed casino.
Centrada Norte
In addition to existent development in the area there are many future developments that have already been approved by Glendale City Council. These developments would add more hotels, more commercial and some additional residential units to the area. Some of these approved projects are: Centrada Norte, Bella Villagio, Sportsman’s Park East/Sportsman’s Park West, and Zanjero – all within a quarter of a mile to a mile away). By no means is this a complete list.
Kellis HS
There is also a Peoria district high school. Raymond Kellis, directly east and across 91st Avenue from the proposed casino. The Peoria district also owns land to the east of the high school that has been planned for a number of years to beome an elementary school.
To recap, the proposed casino would impact nearly 10,000 people, a high school, Westgate and all future development of the area.
Next up…how did the Tohono O’odham get the land?
Hi Joyce,
Your map enlarges to a proper size when you click on it, so no problem there. A Google satellite view may also help: http://goo.gl/maps/IXRBM
I’m not sure how I feel about the casino myself, but can you clarify how it would “impact 10,000 people”? I’m assuming you mean negatively, but it’s hard to say you haven’t elaborated. Perhaps you plan to address it in a future article.
Respectfully, I’m not sure how living a good mile from the casino would affect somebody, but perhaps you have some studies on how existing casinos have denigrated neighborhoods.
Hi Phillip,
It’s good to know that when one clicks on the map, it will enlarge. Sometimes I am technically challenged! As to your questions, yes, I plan to elaborate on the effects of a casino in an urban environment. But those are for later posts. Right now, I wanted to offer some background. My next post will be to explain how the Tohono O’Odham acquired the land at a time when voters in the state were considering a state/tribal casino compact back in 2002.
I may be jumping the gun a little bit here, but I too was hoping for a little clarification on the whole Casino topic. Other than a high school across the street, what are the negative impacts to a Casino? I can only see positives.
How will it impact City of Glendale? Police and Fire? Since its an indian reservation, don’t they have to supply their own emergency services? Anyway, how would that be any different from calls helping neighboring cities? Utilities? How is that any different if they were hotels, condos or homes?
How will it effect residents nearby? Unless I’m mistaken, isn’t most of that area zoned for commercial anyway? That whole area is an entertainment district and that is what has been planned for the last 10 years. If you didn’t want to be around that, you shouldn’t have moved there. If you’ve lived there longer than 10 years, you probably don’t like Westgate or any of the development there anyway.
I lived in the Quarter condos at Westgate for 3 years and loved it. I hated Cardinals home games because I couldn’t get in or out of my home for almost 7 hours. Do I want to get rid of the cardinals or not have U of P stadium? No, because that is what is best fof the area. Do I want to get rid of the high school because I have to listen to the noise from the loudspeakers from their football stadium? Too many people have the not in my backyard syndrome. I think a casino would be a great idea and would help to bring more tourists and tourist dollars, which is what this state needs. The city of Peoria is in favor of a casino. Is Glendale just unhappy they aren’t in control and not getting a piece of the pie?
Matt, All will be revealed as I work my way through the timeline of this situation. I have to lay some foundation first. Next up will be 2002 and the voter approved state/tribal casino agreement. Readers also needs some history on the Gila River Indian Lands Replacement Act. After that I will provide information on the impacts of a casino. Just hold on…it’s all coming!