May 31--Financing for the Mall of America's new luxury hotel could come from the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, which operates the Mystic Lake and Little Six casinos in the Twin Cities.

The tribe said in a statement that it "is exploring a partnership with Mall of America and Mortenson Development to finance a new luxury hotel on the north side of the property as part of the mall's latest expansion project." The Mall has said it will break ground for the expansion project this fall and complete it in two years.

Mall spokesman Dan Jasper confirmed the talks, but said they're still preliminary and the mall is talking with other potential partners for the hotel, as well. Talks are ongoing with potential hotel brands, too, he said.

Mall officials have previously described the $230 million expansion as including a 330-room hotel, 150,000-square-feet of additional retail space, a center for international visitors and an event center. No casino is planned. The expansion will be located between the north entrance of the mall and Lindau Lane. Minneapolis-based Mortenson Construction is a partner on the expansion, which is called 1C.

The Mdewakanton Sioux said that, since they have had a store at the Mall of America since 2001, mall officials "approached us about the potential to work together on this project." The SMSC tribe runs several buses from the mall to the Mystic Lake casino daily.

"We are still conducting the necessary due diligence to ensure that the investment is a good fit for our Community. However, it is in our market, and we believe it would help diversify our investments and further strengthen our relationship with MOA," the Mdewakanton Sioux said.

Said Jasper: "We've had a great relationship since 2001 with the SMSC, they've been great partners."

Steve Alexander --612-673-4553

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