The business arm of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe has purchased Big Sandy Lodge & Resort for nearly $7 million, the latest in a series of hospitality acquisitions for the band.
Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe buys Big Sandy Lodge & Resort
Band is diversifying its revenue beyond casinos.
April 8, 2016 at 8:13PM
The purchase, closed this week, includes seven cabins, 14 townhouses, the 18-room lodge, a rustic log home, The Pines Restaurant and The Bear's Den Sports Bar & Grille. It's the site of the Minnesota Governor's Fishing Opener later this spring.
The sale does not include the nearby Minnesota National Golf Course.
Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures, the band's economic development entity, has been considering the property — located at 20534 487th St. on the south shore of Big Sandy Lake in McGregor, about 70 miles west of Duluth — for about three years, tribal officials said.
Joe Nayquonabe Jr., chief executive of Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures, has led the band's efforts to diversify its revenue beyond gambling. In 2013, the band acquired two downtown St. Paul hotels — the Crowne Plaza Hotel and DoubleTree by Hilton — and one in Oklahoma City in 2014. Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures turned around and purchased the DoubleTree by Hilton in St. Louis Park at the end of 2015 for more than $37 million. The group also invested $10 million last year in the renovation of the legendary Eddy's Resort on Lake Mille Lacs, which it had owned since 2002.
"Our road map calls for a mix of hospitality growth in targeted markets as well as acquisitions that allow us to expand the local business economy within all three districts of the Mille Lacs Band reservation," Nayquonabe said in a prepared statement.
Tribal leaders said they don't have any immediate changes planned, but will assess its operations with an eye for opportunities that could "improve efficiency and profitability over time."
"We have a long history with Big Sandy Lake, and it is actually a very sacred place for Anishinabe people, so this acquisition was a perfect match for more than just business reasons," said Melanie Benjamin, chief executive of the Band in the statement.
Kristen Leigh Painter • 612-673-4767
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