Press Room

River Cree Casino beats odds, opens early

Expert planning, warm winter hastened construction

Ron Chalmers, The Edmonton Journal
Published: Monday, October 23, 2006

EDMONTON - Christmas comes early to the Enoch Cree Nation with its River Cree Resort and Casino opening Oct. 26 -- more than two months ahead of schedule.

"It was great work by Ledcor Construction and all the subtrades," says Robert Morin, president of Enoch Community Developments Corporation.

Despite widespread labour and material shortages, Ledcor finished the job Oct. 13, beating its Dec. 27 commitment by 10 weeks.

"That's unheard of these days," Morin says.

How did Ledcor do it?

"All the stars had to line up -- but we had to manipulate the stars to make them line up," says Ledcor vice-president Bob Walker.

Enoch Cree Nation is partnered in the $178-million development with Paragon Gaming of Las Vegas, which chose Ledcor -- Canada's second largest contractor after PCL -- as construction manager and general contractor.

"The only way to complete this job on time, safely, with good quality, was to hand-pick the subtrades," Walker says.

Ledcor invited bids from two trusted subcontractors in each field, such as mechanical, electrical, drywall and paint. "If you know it's just between you and one other competitor, you sharpen your pencil," Walker says.

Within Ledcor, "we split the job into four components -- hotel, casino, arena and site services," he says. "Each had a superintendent and project manager and was run almost as a separate project."

Excellent drawings from Cohos Evamy architects and Associated Engineering, both of Edmonton, and Yeates Silverman interior designers of Las Vegas, reduced uncertainty and delay.

"There was not a lot of question what was required of us," Walker says.

"You have to make sure everybody knows what they are doing, and nobody's making assumptions because of bad drawings."

The project was "fast-tracked" with late stages still being designed while early stages were being built.

Ledcor had quoted one firm price plus "an agreed amount for contingencies and an escalation allowance," Walker says -- but those clauses were written more in principle than in detail.

"Everybody took a bit of a gamble, then checked their egos at the door," Walker says. "There was a lot of faith on both sides."

He concedes that Ledcor also hit a lucky streak. "We had probably the best winter of my 30 years in the construction business. We were able to do exterior work far into the fall, and early in the spring."

The arena, operated by Canlan Ice Spots, already is open.

The casino and hotel now are being equipped and furnished. They will open Oct. 26, just west of Edmonton at 79th Avenue and 215th Street.

"This gives them an extra Christmas season," Walker says.

Ledcor achieved "a great accomplishment," says Richard Main, general manager of the hotel -- Edmonton Marriott at River Cree Resort.

"It's a great opportunity to start receiving the benefits," Morin says. Revenue will flow to Paragon, Enoch Cree Nation, several hundred employees, the Alberta Lottery Fund and the First Nations Development Fund.