Natural Wonder
TBE Architects 4 Bears Casino & Lodge • New Town, North Dakota
A $100 million,146,200-square-foot renovation and expansion has debuted at 4 Bears Casino & Lodge, on the shores of Lake Sakakawea in New Town, North Dakota.
The project, completed in June, replaced the former two-story hotel with a seven-story tower, adding 90 guest rooms and suites, for a total of 264 rooms. It also expanded the gaming floor and transformed a 20,300-square-foot restaurant into a sports bar with a dining area and gaming stations. The hotel’s uppermost floor now boasts:
• A 2,500-square-foot ballroom, ideal for banquets and meetings
• Sky-high dining in the glass-surrounded Bison Room Steakhouse
• The opulent Sakakawea Spa, specializing in couples massage
Also new: a gift shop, fitness room and salon. In addition, the lobby and kitchen have been upgraded, and a dedicated glass-backed elevator now rises to the suite level.
Set amid natural wonders like the Killdeer Mountains, the Crow Flies High Butte, the Little Missouri River and the North Dakota Badlands, 4 Bears is owned by owned and operated by the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara tribes, collectively known as the MHA Nation or Three Affiliated Tribes. Chairman Mark Fox has called property “an integral part of our regional economy,” adding, “The MHA Nation supports this hotel development as a means to protect nearly 200 full-time jobs. The infrastructure reinvestment is also necessary to compete with the expansive off-reservation gaming.”
The project team included the Wenaha Group, a Native-owned owner’s representative firm, and general contractors Kraus-Anderson. TBE Architects, a Native American design firm known for its work with 121 tribes and First Nations, served as senior project manager.
