January 13, 2003
AUBURN -- The Muckleshoot Tribe finished buying the land under the Emerald Downs horse racing track in Auburn on Friday, paying a recorded price of $73.6 million for the 158 acres, according to King County property records.
The 1,750-member tribe bought the land from the Segale family.
Northwest Racing Associates operates the track on a lease from the landowner that runs to 2010, with nine five-year options to extend the lease after that.
The tribe operates the state's most profitable casino in Auburn, along with a bingo hall, five miles southeast of the track. The tribe also has a major performance amphitheater under construction.
Before the tribe could put slot machines at Emerald Downs, it would have to place the land into a trust. That's a complex process but one the tribe said it may pursue.
