Also at Tuesday’s meeting, DRA board members approved a previously presented sports complex feasibility study completed by Chicago-based Johnson Consulting.
The study took a comprehensive look at the Dubuque sports market and identified gaps in the market and how they potentially could be filled. The study was meant as a fact-finding endeavor, rather than an effort to push forward a particular project.
DRA board members on Tuesday approved the donation of the study to the city for Dubuque for further consideration and possible action.
For more information, read the Telegraph Herald’s previous coverage at tinyurl.com/sportsfeasibility.
Despite construction-related disruptions, combined gaming revenue at Dubuque’s two casinos remained fairly steady last year compared to 2023.
Q Casino + Resort and Diamond Jo Casino collectively generated $122.65 million in gaming revenue in 2024, according to the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission. That was a slight, 0.8% decrease compared to 2023, when the figure was $123.67 million.
Diamond Jo reported $78.2 million in gaming revenue last year, compared to $76.9 million in 2023. Q Casino + Resort reported gaming revenue of $44.5 million in 2024, compared to its 2023 total of $46.7 million.
“Looking back, 2024 was a year that tested our resilience but also rewarded our perseverance,” said Brian Rakestraw, interim president and CEO of Q Casino + Resort and the DRA. “With numerous changes, we have emerged stronger … and we are excited to carry this momentum into 2025.”
Rakestraw, who also serves as chief operating and finance officer at Q Casino + Resort, shared the annual figures Tuesday at the annual DRA board meeting. The DRA is the nonprofit license holder for Dubuque’s casinos.
The meeting marked Rakestraw’s first in the interim CEO role he will hold until a successor is chosen for previous CEO Alex Dixon, who resigned late last year to take a new position at Resorts World Las Vegas. The search for his replacement is ongoing.
Rakestraw told the board the annual decline in gaming revenue at Q Casino + Resort could be attributed in large part to disruptions caused by the resort’s ongoing, $83 million renovation project.
The casino gaming area started 2024 in a temporary location, he noted, before reopening in its new and improved space in early summer. Construction then began on Island Social, the resort’s new all-ages arcade and family entertainment center that opened in November.
“This shift led to some disruptions and a noticeable decline in revenue, but our team stayed resilient,” he said. “Shortly after that construction ended, our business saw a significant boost and access to our property improved.”
Construction is still underway on a boutique hotel adjacent to the casino, Rakestraw noted, but it will be substantially less disruptive to the gaming facilities than the work that was completed in 2024.
Officials on Tuesday also shared that the DRA’s distribution to the city of Dubuque for 2024 totaled $6.4 million.
Another $1.23 million was given to 57 area organizations to support population growth, retention, tourism and more, and an additional $100,000 was awarded to DBQ Air, a regional nonprofit looking to bolster air service in the Dubuque area.
“This is just a huge testament to the Q staff, our partners at the Diamond Jo and the leadership at the Q Casino + Resort and the DRA,” said outgoing DRA Board President Mike Donohue. “It was a very fulfilling year in terms of what we were able to get done.”