Fresno City Council gives Club One Casino OK to open at Granite Park. But there’s a catch
The Fresno City Council on Thursday gave the green light for the Club One card room to begin operations at Granite Park — with a catch.
The council by a 5-1 vote approved the card room’s permit for 31 tables, and in 90 days the city will revisit the issue to decide whether to allow Club One to add 20 more tables, which it originally wanted.
Councilmember Garry Bredefeld voted against the motion because he opposed the delay for the 20 tables. Councilmember Esmeralda Soria recused herself from voting because of her fiance’s connection to the sports complex section of Granite Park.
CEO Kyle Kirkland said the result was a mixed outcome.
On one hand, we want to celebrate,” Kirkland said. “On the other hand, we want to get past this.”
Club One has been closed since June 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic, leaving hundreds of employees out of work. Thursday’s vote came after a delay last month when Councilmember Tyler Maxwell, who represents District 4 where Granite Park is located, asked Club One to gather community feedback on its plans.
The card room did that by going door-to-door in the neighborhood, talking to neighboring businesses and churches, passing out flyers and hosting a community meeting via Zoom.
Maxwell also made the motion Thursday to initially open 31 tables rather than 51.
Kirkland told the council that while the card room is eager to reopen and put people back to work, slashing the number of card tables it can operate will change the company’s business model. He will also hire about 100 fewer people than planned
“This changes what we were considered to be in terms of a destination for bigger events,” Kirkland said.
Several Club One employees spoke during public comment expressing their eagerness to get back to work.
Mayor Jerry Dyer said he respected Maxwell’s motion since his constituents would be affected. He also said Kirkland has proven himself over the past two decades to be a good business operator.
“it is my hope that when these tables are built out that they’re going to be full, and that we’re going to attract people from our neighboring city to Club One Casino that perhaps we were not able to in the past,” Dyer said. “And that’s going to be more revenue for the city of Fresno and more people employed.”
Bredefeld called the revision “outrageous.”
“I find it insulting that the motion is to come back in 90 days for 20 more tables to see if Mr. Kirkland is a good actor — that was the quote I heard,” Bredefeld said about Maxwell. “I guess we don’t know from your (Kirkland’s) 10 to 20 years of business here whether or not you’re a good actor.”
Bredefeld apologized to Kirkland.
The council also passed another resolution Thursday to use 12% of city revenue from Club One for improving projects in the area, such as adding green space. Maxwell also authored that resolution.
When it’s open, Club One typically generates about $1 million a year in tax revenue.
The casino already moved into the empty building at Granite Park and cleaned up trash in the area, removed graffiti, restored trees and irrigation and has provided 24/7 surveillance, Kirkland said, adding up to around $600,000 in expenses. Kirkland plans to continue improvements over the next 18 to 24 months that could total up to $12 million.
Club One has been looking to relocate from its former downtown location for a couple of years. At one point, the plan was for the casino to buy the iconic spiral garage and the former Gottschalks building connected to it, but the deal with the city fell through.