RED WING — Treasure Island Resort and Casino broke ground today on an $86 million expansion that will add 300 hotel rooms and a host of amenities to the resort destination near Red Wing.
The expansion will add about 184,000 square feet for two new hotel towers that will connect to the current Eagle tower. All are owned by the Prairie Island Indian Community.
Cindy Taube, a spokeswoman for the resort, said a consistently high booking rate and the addition of the Lagoon Water Park and Wave Spa in February have brought the need to add more hotel space at Treasure Island.
"We're almost 100 percent every day of the week," she said. "So when we opened the water park, it drew so many families and vacationers, it cemented the fact we needed to add more hotel rooms."
The two new towers will add 240 standard rooms and 60 suites, bringing the resort's total to 800 rooms, she said. The added towers will mean a revamped lobby that will include self-check in stations, a larger concierge area and a new front desk. The suites will all be on the top floors of the new towers, affording a view of the Mississippi River and river bluffs.
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"The water park was something new and different for us," Taube said. "It has been beyond our expectations as far as popularity." In fact, the expansion will include another 3,200 square feet for the water park. That will add to the $19 million, 40,000-square-foot water park that opened last winter. The latest expansion will include more pool space, more changing areas and other amenities.
The expansion will also include a new restaurant over the Island Xtreme Bowling Center that will be easily accessible from all the hotel towers and feature outdoor seating, she said. The Buffalo Tower will also be renovated to match the look and feel of the new towers.
Construction will begin at the water park and the new restaurant, followed by the addition of the new towers, which should be competed late in 2018, Taube said. The expansion will also add about 150 new permanent jobs at the resort, bringing Treasure Island's workforce up to 1,750 employees.
