SALAMANCA -A new snowmobile trail connecting ones at Allegany State Park to the Seneca Allegany Casino and Hotel will be built.
Seneca Gaming Corp. and Seneca Nation of Indians officials announced Wednesday the company will provide a $66,850 sponsorship to Snow Bounders, Inc., a local snowmobile group, to construct and maintain the trail that will connect the casino to existing trails at the park.
"We are located in one of the premier outdoor winter recreation areas in the country, and we want to embrace the unique aspects that make the Southern Tier a wonderful, year-round destination while at the same time adding a new amenity for our current and future patrons," said Karen Karsten, chairman of the Seneca Gaming Corp. board of directors.
The 1.5 mile trail is expected to add to the area snowmobile industry, report Seneca Gaming Corp. officials. They said there are thousands of miles of trails in area counties.
"Snowmobiling is more than a hobby - it is a $1 billion industry in New York State, with more than 10,000 miles of trails serving more than 100,000 registered snowmobiles across the state," said Tom Hill of Snow Bounders, Inc. He said Western New York is a prime snowmobile area that can be enhanced by the partnership to create the new trail.
"The investments we have made in our businesses and our nation facilities have generated important improvements for the Seneca people and for the entire region," said Seneca Nation President Robert Odawi Porter.
"As we create a future vision for our territories, it is important that we embrace and build upon the many natural and geographic advantages that are inherently ours so that the nation's long-term success and viability and that of the surrounding area can continue to grow together," he said, adding the snowmobiling project is a step in that direction.
The snowmobile trail is the latest development planned at the Seneca Allegany Casino & Hotel, where a new hotel tower that will add about 200 rooms at the property will begin in coming weeks.
Construction of that project is expected to cost $53 million.