Tribe Breaks Ground On Cinema Complex
The tribe broke ground on a new family entertainment and cinema complexe Tuesday, July 18th. The Chief, Vice-Chief, Tribal Council members, members of Economic Development and dozens of of tribal members were in attendance.
The complex will feature family style resturants, cultural and artistic exhibits as well as two state of the art cinemas with 400 seats, ampitheater seating, digital projection and Dolby 7.1 surrond sound. A slideshow of the groundbreaking may be viewed by clicking HERE.

The 2006 Annual Trout Derby
click here to see the slideshow

Tribal Council Approves $650 Million Casino Expansion

Jan 31, 2007
The principal chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokees will sign a Tribal Council resolution today authorizing a 650 million dollar expansion plan for the casino.

The tribal council approved the investment yesterday to add a hotel, retail stores and more room for gambling at its casino.

The five-year project also calls for a new spa, a three-thousand-seat showroom and new restaurants near Harrah's Cherokee Casino and Hotel. "We continue to expand our enterprises through progressive business practices and sound long-term strategies," said Principal Chief Michell Hicks. Principal Chief Michell (Michael) Hicks is to sign the resolution today and provide additional details about the expansion.

The expansion will add about 1,000 jobs to a complex that already employs about 1,800 people The tribe is already the area's largest employer. The expansion will also increase the number of video gaming machines from 3,400 to 5,200. The number of hotel rooms will nearly double to about 1,100 rooms.

The casino is located 50 miles west of Asheville at the entrance of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It's owned by the Cherokees and managed by Harrah's. It earns about 155 million dollars annually for the tribe. Half of that money pays for government services and infrastructure, while the other half is divided into equal payments for each of the tribe's 13,500 members.

Housing Information 
Center
EBCI Housing Division has established a Housing Information Center. This is a One-Stop Shop to get information on the following:

1. Mortgage loan products
2. Builders products (Modular, Stick & Log Modular)
3. All tribal housing programs
4. Site Prep
5. Homebuyer & Credit Counseling Information
6. Landlord/Tenant Information
7. Fair Housing Information
8. Transitional Housing
9. Emergency Housing
10. HIP Housing (Boys Club) for elderly and disabled members
11. Qualla Housing Authority housing products/services
12. HELP Rehab Program for elderly and disabled members
    And much, much more……….

 Information is available at the following locations:  EBCI Housing and Community Development, Council House, Qualla Housing Authority, Cherokee Tribal Child Care, and Qualla Library.
If you would like to see additional information added to the Housing Information Center please contact the Housing Division at 828-554-6900.