An artist's rendering from more than a decade ago shows conceptual plans for the North Fork casino planned for Madera.

The long-planned North Fork Rancheria casino project is coming closer to breaking ground in Madera after recent developments.

The North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians of California announced it has reached a key administrative milestone with the approval of a management agreement between the tribe and its development partner, SC Madera Management, LLC, a subsidiary of Las Vegas-based Red Rock Resorts, Inc. and Station Casinos.

After years of administrative effort and opposing litigation, ground could be broken for the casino this year.

According to a new release from the tribe, the decision by the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC), the federal regulatory agency within the Department of the Interior that oversees gaming on Indian lands, concludes the multi-decade administrative approval process was successfully navigated by the tribe at the local, state, and federal levels.

The project, which will be officially called the North Fork Mono Casino & Resort, has been in the works for two decades, in part because of the tribe’s pursuit of a 305-acre parcel of land near Highway 99, just north of Madera, for gaming.

“Our Tribe has always prided itself on abiding by the spirit and letter of the law and being respectful partners with all levels of government,” said Tribal Chairperson Fred Beihn, “This decision validates our approach and has proven successful for our Tribe.”

The casino and resort will feature gaming, entertainment and hospitality options to the region and serve as a major economic driver, creating thousands of well-paying jobs, tens of millions of dollars in goods and services purchased and generate community investment, according to the release.

The casino will cover 100,000 square feet and have over 2,000 slot and video poker machines and 40 table games.

It’s expected that more than 1,000 team members will be needed to run the casino and resort.

“This is why Tribes engage in Gaming in the first place – to bring jobs and economic opportunity to their tribal citizens and local communities,” stated Tribal Vice Chair Natori Naylor. “At long last, the North Fork Rancheria gets its deserved place at the table.”

The project dates to the early 2000s and since then it has garnered local, state, and federal support based on its potential to positively impact both the tribe and surrounding local community, according to the release.

In 2011, the federal Secretary of the Interior issued a two-part determination affirming the tribe’s historical connection to the Madera parcel and local community support for the project.

Governor Brown concurred the determination in 2012 and negotiated a second contract with the tribe, which was ratified in 2013.

In 2016, the Secretary of the Interior issued procedures allowing the Tribe to conduct Class III gaming on its trust land.

“No tribal gaming project in the history of our nation has received as much attention and scrutiny as North Fork,” said Tribal Treasurer and past Tribal Chairperson Maryann McGovran. “We are proud of our accomplishments but wish the project had been completed years ago. The delays mainly result from competitor and opponent tactics and have been dubious and costly to our Tribe and community; nonetheless, we are pleased to be where we are today.”

No groundbreaking has been announced, nor any final details for the construction financing.

Construction is expected to begin later this year and should be completed in 15-18 months.