4 Bears remodel complete
By Jerry W. Kram
After two decades of contributing to support the Three Affiliated Tribes budget, the 4 Bears Casino and Lodge is getting a little bit back. Tribal Chairman Mark Fox was on hand to officially cut the ribbon marking the completion of the 2014 remodeling of the lodge and casino.
The just-completed project was part of a string of improvements that will continue over the next several years. The main features of current update of the Casino and Lodge included a redesign of the gaming floor with new machines and décor, redesign of the lodge’s Cache, Bison Room and Corner Cafe restaurants, and new carpeting and lighting for the lodge’s meeting rooms.
General manager Pat Packineau was excited about the lodge and casino’s new look.
"This is really a facelift for the current casino," Packineau said. "It is something our customers have been asking for for a long time. I think we are really going in the right direction."
Architect Aaron Carpenter of I-5 Design described some of the changes that were included in the remodeling project. He said the design was intended to evoke the natural surroundings of the region. The carpets throughout the lodge and casino were designed exclusively for 4 Bears. The red and black designs in the meeting rooms is meant to remind visitors of flowing river water. The chandeliers are the color of the sandstone bluffs along the river. In the gaming area, blue lighting is meant to remind visitors of the prairie sky and small twinkling lights the stars.
