Harrah’s Cherokee Casino & Hotel unveiled plans for a new 3,000-seat Events Center making it the region’s leading concert, events and entertainment venue. Opening celebrations are scheduled Labor Day Weekend 2010.

Hosting top-tier talent including Country, Comedy, and Rock, sporting events and production shows, the three-level Events Center will include VIP suites, box seating and 1,000 balcony seats. Modular seating will be used for conventions, sports programming, catering and special events.

Concession areas will be located on all floors; LCD screens throughout the pre-function area. The stage will be 60’ by 40’, framed by 32’ screens with HD resolution. A D&B J Series Line array speaker system with theatrical lighting includes MA Lighting Grand MA2 console and Martin Intelligent lighting instruments. Green Room includes flat-screen televisions and dressing rooms.

The Events Center is part of the 56-acre property’s $633 million expansion to position Harrah’s Cherokee Casino & Hotel as the Southeast’s premier gaming destination and world-class entertainment and tourism destination. Scheduled for completion in 2012, the expansion is the most significant hospitality development underway in the Southeast and one of the largest in the U.S.

The “Master Plan” adds a third tower (532 luxury guest rooms/suites) providing the most accommodations in North and South Carolina, entertainment and VIP lounges, 18,000-square-foot spa, digital poker room, Asian gaming room, new restaurant and retail outlets, and parking garages.

Harrah’s Cherokee also is renovating current casino facilities and doubling the casino floor size to 195,000 square feet. Recently opened as a guest amenity is nearby Sequoyah National Golf Club, an 18-hole, par 72 championship course designed by Robert Trent Jones II and Notah Begay III, owned by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and managed by Troon Golf, developer, marketer and manager of upscale golf properties.

In June 2009, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, owners of Harrah’s Cherokee, approved a referendum which permits wine, beer and spirits to be served on the casino floor, in restaurants, cafes, VIP lounge, and guest accommodations via room service.

Harrah’s Cherokee is located 50 miles from Asheville at the entrance to Great Smoky Mountains National Park.