(AP) — Kansas filed a lawsuit Monday against top officials at the U.S. Department of Interior in an effort to block the Wyandotte Nation of Oklahoma from building a casino on land it owns in Park City, the latest legal twist in a decades-long dispute over the tribe’s legal authority on the 10-acre parcel.

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2. Wyandotte Casino Park City Kansas Map
3. Wyandotte Casino Park City Kansas Park

1. The Wyandotte casino project is just 10 miles from the Kansas Star Casino, one of the four commercial casinos. Kansas has entered into Class III gaming compacts with other tribes to allow them to.
2. Wyandotte County Lake and Park provides 1500 acres of wooded area, a 400 acre lake with marina, kids' fishing pond, a large playground, boat rentals, concessions, bridle trail, off-leash dog area, archery range, F.L. Schlagle Library and Environmental Center. Picnic shelters available - A rural retreat withing the city limits. Reservations required. Well maintained single track trail for.
3. The site The Wyandotte Nation of Oklahoma still owns land located on the south side of 77th casino in Park City has met opposition from the State of Kansas, which has Friend said the Wyandotte's casino in Park City would contribute locally 29 Jul 2011 Wyandotte Nation of Oklahoma sues over Kansas casino land tribe bought the acres in Park City.

TOPEKA, Kan. (KWCH) - The State of Kansas Monday announced that it’s asked a federal court to set aside a U.S. Department of the Interior decision that allows the Wyandotte Nation of Oklahoma to build a operate a casino in Park City.

The announcement from Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt follows the Wyandotte’s announcement in May that the Department of the Interior had taken regulatory steps to allow the tribe to build its casino on a parcel of land near 77th North and Interstate 135.

“The unexpected announcement reversed a previous decision from 2014, in which the department had rejected the tribe’s request to build a casino on the parcel,” the state said.

The tribe purchased the parcel north of Wichita in 1992.

Schmidt said although the state was involved in previous discussions about allowing gaming on the land, the state wasn’t told that further discussions were underway between the tribe and the Department of the Interior, or that the department was considering reversing its position. He said the state learned about this from news reports.

“[N]o notice of any kind was provided to Kansas or any of the other plaintiffs despite their significant participation in the administrative proceedings and litigation involving the proposed the Park City trust acquisition between September 2010, and July 2014,” the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit is the latest in the decades-long dispute over the Wyandotte Nation’s legal authority to build a casino on the Park City land. At issue is whether federal law in this instance overrides Kansas’ prohibition, which the state has strongly defended.

The state said Sumner County and the City of Mulvane, home to the state-owned Kansas Star Casino are among other plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

“Defendants are David Bernhardt, secretary of the Department of Interior, and Tara Sweeney, assistant secretary-Indian Affairs of the Department of Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs,” the state said.

Copyright 2020 KWCH. All rights reserved.

PARK CITY, Kan. (KWCH) A tribal casino could soon go up in Park City.

According to a notice posted June 3, 2020, on the Federal Register, the Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs approved a tract of land (10.24 acres) in trust for the Wyandotte Nation in Park City for gaming and other purposes on May 20, 2020.

The deed describes the land as being located in Coliseum Center, an addition to Park City.

The Wyandotte tribe bought the land near 77th North and I-135 in 1992.

The tribe claimed it bought the land, located on the south of 77th North between Sedgwick County Fire Station 32 and the former Wild West World property, with land claim settlement money. A law passed by Congress in 1984 gave the Wyandotte Nation $100,000 to purchase land to hold in trust. With land held in trust, the tribe could build a casino, but to this point, there have been roadblocks from the state and federal government.

In 2014, the Department of the Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs said the Oklahoma-based tribe could not use settlement money commingled with other money to purchase the land.

Leading the charge to block the casino in Park City, the State of Kansas had argued that the tribe didn't exclusively use settlement money to buy the land in Park City and that the 1984 settlement in favor of the tribe had already been fulfilled when the Wyandotte built a gaming hall in Kansas City, Kan.

The State of Kansas also argued that a casino in Sedgwick County was a violation of state law. County voters rejected a state-owned casino which eventually became the Kansas Star Casino in Mulvane.

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In 2014, then Park City Administrator Jack Whitson told Eyewitness News the casino would bring in 1,500 'good-paying jobs.'

Tuesday, Eyewitness News spoke with Chief Billy Friend, the leader of the Wyandotte Nation, who says construction on the planned casino could start in the next few months. This comes after years of legal battles.

'We are glad it's over and we are looking forward to being part of the community and making jobs and creating growth in Sedgwick County and Park City, Kansas,' Chief Friend says.

For now, Chief Friend says they can have Class II gaming devices on the property, including electronic bingo machines.He says he plans to bring in anywhere from 800 to 1,200 gaming machines, but also plans to add slot machines and card games. For that to happen, the tribe would have to reach an agreement with the Kansas governor.

Wyandotte Casino Park City Kansas Map

'It's a win win for the Wyandotte Nation and it's a win for Park City, Kansas,' Chief Friend says.

Wyandotte Casino Park City Kansas Park

Eyewitness News also reached out to the Kansas Attorney General's Office Tuesday. It says news of the planned casino surprised them and they are reviewing the situation.

About six years ago, the attorney general's office said the tribe couldn't legally build a casino on the Park City site .