The total usable space will be 100,000 square feet, of which 30,000 feet are clear-span. The convention center and quarter-share hotel are slated for groundbreaking in 2002 and should be fully built in 18 months. Rhett Long, who oversees Caesars Tahoe and the two Hilton properties in Reno, said the Shingle Springs project will have a clear impact during bad weather when much of the California drive-up market will be dissuaded from making the trip. He also expects Caesars to feel the impact during the softer shoulder periods between the peak travel seasons. However Long, like other experts and gaming executives, finds the ultimate impact of Shingle Springs tough to gauge.
Nobody knows for sure.
Michael Bradford, president of the Lakeside Inn and Casino at Stateline, said the south shore already has taken a hit from Indian gaming in recent years in lost day-trippers. He doesn t believe the remaining impact from developing casinos will be any worse. He estimated that Indian casinos already have taken about 3 percent of the market and might take another 2 percent for an estimated cut of 5 percent. It s going to hurt and it already has hurt, Bradford said. But the major part of the hurt here, I think, is largely over.