The ground has been broken on the development of the $600m Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tejon. [Image: Shutterstock.com]

The ground-breaking ceremony to kickstart the development of the $600m Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tejon has taken place. Officials from the Tejon Indian Tribe and Hard Rock International gathered in Mettler, California for the event. Local and state-wide community leaders were also in attendance.

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 either directly or indirectly employed when the new property opens. The first phase of the project will take about 22 months and will include the development of numerous restaurants.

The facility will encompass 700,000 square feet, with the gaming floor taking up about 21% of the total space. It will contain 2,500 slot machines and 48 table games. The second phase will see the addition of a 400-room hotel, a spa, a pool, and a live event venue.

without a homeland for over 150 years

This new casino resort was made possible after California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a compact with the Tejon Indian Tribe last year. This agreement designated 320 acres of land to the tribe that was without a homeland for over 150 years. It built on the announcement in 2019 about the tribe’s intention to pursue a casino project in collaboration with Hard Rock International.