SANTA ANA — Some Garden Grove officials wants to build a Las Vegas- style gambling and entertainment resort just blocks from Disneyland, it was reported today.
As word emerged that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was preparing to sign a deal that would allow an Indian casino in the Bay Area -- the first in an urban area -- officials told the Los Angeles Times they had had talks with a San Diego County tribe and Las Vegas mogul Steve Wynn to build a similar project.
The city's proposal calls for Garden Grove to sell up to 45 acres on tourist-rich Harbor Boulevard to the Mesa Grande Band of Mission Indians, which would build a mega-resort on the property, The Times reported.
Garden Grove City Manager Matt Fertal told The Times his city, which has long struggled to cash in on its proximity to Disneyland, envisioned a resort that would include restaurants, shopping and live entertainment comparable to the best in Las Vegas.
"We have the opportunity to bring in the most premier resort developer to Orange County and create an attraction unlike anything else in California," Fertal told the newspaper. "If people want to focus on just the gaming, then they're being very shortsighted."
City officials told The Times they met with Wynn earlier this year to discuss the idea and had pitched it to representatives of the governor.
Wynn, who built the Bellagio, Mirage and Treasure Island casinos on the Las Vegas Strip, confirmed the meeting but said the talks were "based on hypothesis on top of hypothesis." As yet, Wynn said in a statement quoted by The Times, "there are no negotiations."
The tribe and the city are eyeing a parcel on Harbor Boulevard, just south of Disneyland, that the city has placed in its redevelopment zone, The Times reported.
But Casino industry analysts and local officials told The Times they doubted the deal would be approved. Already, there is significant opposition, including from Garden Grove Mayor Bruce Broadwater, who said a casino could attract crime to an area once frequented by prostitutes.
As word emerged that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was preparing to sign a deal that would allow an Indian casino in the Bay Area -- the first in an urban area -- officials told the Los Angeles Times they had had talks with a San Diego County tribe and Las Vegas mogul Steve Wynn to build a similar project.
The city's proposal calls for Garden Grove to sell up to 45 acres on tourist-rich Harbor Boulevard to the Mesa Grande Band of Mission Indians, which would build a mega-resort on the property, The Times reported.
Garden Grove City Manager Matt Fertal told The Times his city, which has long struggled to cash in on its proximity to Disneyland, envisioned a resort that would include restaurants, shopping and live entertainment comparable to the best in Las Vegas.
"We have the opportunity to bring in the most premier resort developer to Orange County and create an attraction unlike anything else in California," Fertal told the newspaper. "If people want to focus on just the gaming, then they're being very shortsighted."
City officials told The Times they met with Wynn earlier this year to discuss the idea and had pitched it to representatives of the governor.
Wynn, who built the Bellagio, Mirage and Treasure Island casinos on the Las Vegas Strip, confirmed the meeting but said the talks were "based on hypothesis on top of hypothesis." As yet, Wynn said in a statement quoted by The Times, "there are no negotiations."
The tribe and the city are eyeing a parcel on Harbor Boulevard, just south of Disneyland, that the city has placed in its redevelopment zone, The Times reported.
But Casino industry analysts and local officials told The Times they doubted the deal would be approved. Already, there is significant opposition, including from Garden Grove Mayor Bruce Broadwater, who said a casino could attract crime to an area once frequented by prostitutes.
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