Ground has been broken for the $600 million Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tejon development. [Image: Shutterstock.com]
A groundbreaking ceremony was held to begin the development of the $600 million Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tejon. Officials from the Tejon Indian Tribe and Hard Rock International gathered in Mettler, California for the event. The audience was also attended by leaders of the local community and at the state level.
The hope is that the casino will be ready to open its doors in the fall of 2025. It will create about 2,000 construction jobs, with approximately 5,000 people to be employed directly or indirectly when the new property opens. The first phase of the project will take approximately 22 months and will include the development of several restaurants.
The facility is 700,000 square feet, and the gaming floor occupies about 21% of the total area. It will contain 2,500 slot machines and 48 table games. The second phase will see the addition of a 400-room hotel, spa, pool and live events venue.
Without a homeland for more than 150 years
This new casino resort was made possible after California Governor Gavin Newsom signed an agreement with the Tejon Indian Tribe last year. This agreement allocated 320 acres of land to the tribe, which had been without a homeland for more than 150 years. This built on the announcement in 2019 of the tribe’s intent to pursue a casino project in collaboration with Hard Rock International.
