Odawa Casino Resort was Awarded for the 2022 Michigan Battle of the Buildings Competition in the Venue Category

Odawa Casino Resort is owned and operated by the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians. The Resort, located in Petoskey, Michigan opened its doors in June of 2007. The facility is about 300,000 square feet and includes nearly 20,000 feet of meeting and special event space, 50,000 square foot gaming floor, nearly 1,000 slots, dozens of table games, a high-limit room, and a dedicated Poker room and Blackjack room. The Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians is committed to “reducing their carbon footprint on Mother Earth.” Odawa Casino is committed to this goal and to reducing their energy consumption. They are “always looking for new ideas,” said the late Dave Heinz, Odawa Casino‘s Master Electrician. “That’s why we stay so involved with the Michigan Battle of the Buildings.”

Odawa Casino Resort in Petoskey saw a 7.42% energy reduction in the 2022 Michigan Battle of the Buildings competition, solidifying the facility as the winner in our Venue Category. The energy reduction project occurred between January and March of 2021, and included the improvement of the lighting in the facility, which was a big cost savings and reduction of their carbon footprint. The project included replacing the lighting in the Ovation Hall with LED lights. In the Hall, they originally had all 175w metal halide and 400w quartz, which they changed out to 45w 2x2 flat panels. They also have 1050 can lights that run 24/7/365, which they changed from an 8w LED A19 to a 5.5w and so far have completed around 200. The new lights will reduce the shadows on the wall, and allow them to change the kelvin rating from 3000k up to 5000k for specific events. Their S2 Department (cameras) were changed from analog to digital cameras and servers, which took them from 77 servers to approximately 10 and reduced kW’s and a large heat load off of the chillers. The product improved the lighting and reduced the cost by $7,167.85 per year. The project cost included $8,695.50 for the product, $2,000 internal cost, for a total of $10,695. The established rebate was $6,521.63 and the cost after the rebate was $4,173.87. Their annual savings is $7,168 with an annual carbon footprint reduction of 64.3 metric tons. They recently signed a new contract with Trane for their 2 - 1,000 ton chillers to tune them annually so they run as efficiently as possible. On the Natural Gas side, they rebuilt and upgraded 5 - 1,000,000 btu boilers, which had a significant impact on their gas bill. They now have 3 of 8 of their air handlers in bypass instead of 100% outside air intake, which had a massive impact on both gas and electric usage.

When asked what his favorite part of the entire project was, Dave Heinz said that it was finding the product they used to accomplish the project after 4 years of searching. As for future sustainability-related plans, Odawa Casino Resort is always looking for new ideas and projects. They plan to continue to stay involved with the Michigan Battle of the Buildings.

We were excited to celebrate the Odawa Casino Resort’s accomplishments in energy efficiency at our annual Michigan Energy Summit on April 18, 2023 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where they were awarded in the Venue Category!